Of Witches And Wizards
by WinterRain384
Summary: It was no surprise that James Potter got on Lily Evans' nerves. He was arrogant, impulsive, obnoxious- absolutely everything that Lily refused to like. Lily was simple. James was complex. What they didn't know is that simplicity and complexity need each other and fate can work in mysterious ways to get two people, destined for each other, together.
1. Gossip

**Hi guys! I just want to start off by saying I've wanted to write a Marauder's Era Fanfic FOREVER so here it is. I'm not new to FanFiction, Wattpad, or writing for that matter. I've been writing for years and I'm really surprised this is my first Harry Potter Fanfic I'm posting. I've written a lot of HP but haven't posted them which I probably will in the future.**

 **I know there's A LOT of Marauder Era fanfiction's about James and Lily's relationship starting from 6th/7th year and I'm probably stupid for adding on to it but I am, cause I can. :D. Trust me, this one is different from the other ones, I hope so... Anyway, I really hope you like this Fanfiction!**

 **It's going to have a lot of chapters, I haven't decided the exact number, but it's probably going to be around 30. The updates will vary but it will probably be every Saturday. I'm using this story for NaNoWriMo so the updates might actually come a lot sooner. I'm hoping college and work doesn't get in the way but if it does, I promise to have this as a priority.**

 **Last thing! I'm also posting this FanFic on Wattpad so if you have any friends who use Wattpad over this, tell them about this story, please! There is also a Wiki about this FanFic, you should check it out. It has all the cast for this story. I've also made a playlist on Spotify for this story which at the end of each chapter I'll post a few 'chapter songs' or songs that fit the Marauder's Era/characters in general.**

 **Anyway, sorry for my rambling, I'm a talker. Scroll down, read my story, and please review! :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

 **Summary:** **It was no surprise that James Potter got on Lily Evans' nerves. He was arrogant, impulsive, obnoxious- absolutely everything that Lily refused to like. Lily was simple. James was complex. What they didn't know is that simplicity and complexity need each other and fate can work in mysterious ways to get two people, destined for each other, together.**

 **CHAPTER 1**

" **Gossip"**

Lily Evans wasn't clumsy.

Well, _she_ thought she wasn't. In fact, the 16-year-old considered herself as pretty well-balanced. Lily was convinced whenever she _did_ trip, it wasn't precisely her fault. However, that assumption sure felt like a slap to the face the moment her knees came into contact with the pavement below her.

Cringing, Lily pushed herself on her hands. She could feel her cheeks heat up with embarrassment but fortunately for her, her fall seemed to have gone unnoticed. People bustled about her, as if she were invisible, and continued their own walk for their responsibilities.

Lily gasped when a knee bumped into her shoulder, causing her right arm to give in. With that action, Lily's left hand got stepped on by a child to which she immediately cursed under her breath and brought her hand in. And yet, people acted as if she weren't there. They were all rushing to the train, ignoring the redhead on the ground.

The witch quickly avoided the possibility of getting stepped on even more by raising to her feet. Brushing off small pebbles of pavement that gathered on her hands and knees, Lily looked behind her.

Her parents and older sister, Petunia, were venturing her way after just speaking with an employee. Her parents chatted casually as their oldest daughter strolled beside them. Petunia was clutching onto her bag and wore a nervous yet excited expression on her face. For a moment, when Petunia saw Lily, a flicker of worry crossed her features but then it quickly was replaced with the usual look of annoyance.

"What happened _this_ time?" The 19-year-old asked once Lily's family joined her on the crowded station.

"I tripped," Lily replied somewhat embarrassingly before returning to her cart. "I dropped my ticket and went to grab it when… " Lily faded out, realizing that Petunia wasn't actually listening.

"Oh, sweetie," Lily's mother rushed up to the redhead, (Petunia rolled her eyes), and cupped her daughter's small face in her hand. "Are you alright?"

Lily smiled as she tried avoiding her mother's fingers which were trying to pat down her hair. "Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry about me, mum."

"Yes, don't worry about her. She's going to _Hogwarts,"_ Petunia mentioned the school with a mocking tone. "She's going to be perfectly fine."

"Petunia," Their father warned as he picked up two of Petunia's suitcases that were settled near the older daughter's feet. "Don't mock your sister." He looked towards the large clock across the station and gasped. "Merlin's beard! Is that the time? We really must be heading towards the train. We're running late!"

Lily quickly gathered some of her possessions that had fallen from her fall, gave her cat Melvin a quick pat on the head, and pushed her cart alongside her family.

"Petunia starting college," Lily's mother smiled towards the blonde. "And Lily's sixth year at Hogwarts." Looping her arm through Lily's, she continued, "What a wonderful day!"

* * *

"Mum, it's fine. _Ow,_ mum, seriously, stop. _Ow!_ Mother-"

"Oh hush, James."

Sirius Black snickered, watching as James Potter crouched in front of his short mother, getting his disheveled black hair prodded and combed through. James cringed and tried pulling away, to which his mother would just pull him back and continue trying to tame his hair.

"OW! Dad, do something-"

Fleamont Potter shared an amused look with Sirius and shrugged.

James scowled. "Ugh, I hate you both,"

"Your hair," Euphemia Potter sighed in defeat and finally pulled back. She watched as her son rubbed his head, rising back to his 6 foot height. "Is, unfortunately, just like your father's."

Fleamont shook his head and pointed to his grey, that was once black, hair which was exactly like James. "This is a masterpiece. You _love_ this hair."

"Just like your father," Euphemia mumbled, smiling as she fixed James' collar to his white button-up. " _Exactly_ like him. Sirius," Euphemia reached for the other 16-year-old and fixed Sirius' collar as well. She eyed Sirius' hair (he blinked, fearfully) and smiled. "Okay, you boys are ready. Wait! Family hug!" The two boys groaned but nonetheless participated in the family hug that lasted longer than necessary, for Euphemia was holding on tightly.

"Don't get into _too_ much trouble," Fleamont winked. "But if so, I want to hear all about it."

Nudging her husband, Euphemia shook her head. "Don't listen to him, boys. Stay safe, alright? I want you both to come home in one piece for Christmas." She paused, her lips pursed. Euphemia rolled her eyes. "Knowing you boys, you _will_ get into trouble. So… try _not_ to get arrested please? We don't want to repeat fourth year."

Sirius whistled slowly, a look of nostalgia crossing over his handsome face. "Ah, fourth year."

Euphemia rolled her eyes but smiled. "Love you, boys. Have a good year and tell us about it, please-" The bell to Hogwarts Express rang loudly, signaling that its scheduled departure was close. Euphemia waved to the now leaving teenagers before gasping. "Wait! James, here," Licking her thumb, Mrs. Potter pulled her son towards him and wiped off a smudge on his cheek.

" _Mum_ ," James complained but complied, waiting for her to be finished. "When you are you going to stop treating me like a child?"

"Never because you _are_ my child." Euphemia smiled, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Have a good year, James."

"Love you."

"Love you too, sweetheart."

* * *

"Did you hear that Florence Nightingale and Adrian Foster broke up? " Lily's best friend, Marlene McKinnon, asked as she popped another jelly slug into her mouth. Marlene ran a hand through her natural curly blonde hair as her blue eyes looked up from the magazine she was reading. "Apparently it was totally awkward- sticky tears, bargaining, falling to the ground to beg."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Who was it that cried? Florence?"

"Oh no, it was Adrian. Florence didn't even bat an eye," Another jelly slug. Marlene turned another page to the Quidditch magazine. "Oh! Looks like Sarah Johns is back to playing Seeker for the Harpies. How many kids has she had- eight? Man, does she look old."

Lily noticed the large bag of the candy right beside the blonde and furrowed her eyebrows. "How did you get so many of those? The Trolley witch hasn't even been around yet."

"Sirius snagged some for me," The Gryffindor Chaser handed the bag to Lily. "Want one?"

As Lily grabbed a purple jelly slug, a beautiful brunette burst into the train compartment, completely out of breath. "Quick! Hide me!"

"Mary," Lily spoke in-between chewing, "What _are_ you doing?"

Their friend didn't answer their question and instead, quickly climbed up onto the shelves above them and hid behind a suitcase. The small witch remained motionless, leaving two very confused witches underneath her.

"I'm almost positive that's gonna break-" Marlene was cut short at the sound of their train compartment door opening.

"Hey, have you guys seen Mary Macdonald?" Dayton Rounds, a Hufflepuff 5th year, asked looking between the two pretty 6th years.

"Sorry, no." Lily replied with a smile as Marlene shook her head.

Dayton blushed softly when he realized Lily's smile was meant for him and nodded. "Th-thanks." He mumbled. Dayton looked at Marlene and smiled before departing.

After a moment of silence, Marlene looked towards Lily. "I swear that bloke loves anything with legs."

"Why were you hiding from him, Mary?" Lily asked just as the girl jumped down from the shelves.

Pushing down her skirt from the jump, Mary sighed. "He ran into me when we were boarding. After I apologized, he followed me into the train and _wouldn't leave my side._ " Mary growled as she sat down next to Marlene. "Anyway, it took me a while to ditch him 'cause he always found me. Until now."

"Knock on wood," Marlene responded causing the brunette to reach over and knock on the wooden walls.

"So," Mary sighed, looking entirely happy that she ditched the boy. Her chocolate brown eyes looked between Lily and Marlene, her full pink lips pulled up into a smile."What have you guys been talking about?"

"Latest gossip,"

"Oh, speaking about that, I ran into Arthur Weasley the other day." Mary informed the two girls, "Their third son, Percy, was born about 2 weeks ago. He says he's doing great."

"It's not gossip if it's true, Mary." Marlene replied as she gave Mary an amused look. After popping a jelly slug in her mouth, the blonde continued. "Red hair?"

"Did you have to ask?"

"C'mon, what's wrong with red hair?" Lily added as she pointed to her own long red hair.

"Aren't you all soulless or something?" Mary smirked before receiving a half-eaten jelly slug to the face.

"There you guys are!" A 16-year-old quickly walked in as she pushed aside some of her short black hair and sat down next to Lily. "I kept running into Arian Foster who is a blubbering mess. He asked me where Florence was."

"Did you tell him?" Lily asked.

The tiny witch shook her head.

"I think she's trying to avoid him." Marlene added with a smile.

"Oh, _undoubtedly_. He's acting insane."

"How was your summer, Olivia?" Mary asked as Olivia reached for a jelly slug in Marlene's bag.

Olivia pointed towards Lily and took a bite of a bright pink one. "I spent it with this bore-"

"Hey!"

"I'm joking." Olivia laughed as Lily playfully shoved Olivia. "Lily and I went shopping in London a lot. Which reminds me, I got the most _amazing_ set of quills and parchment. They'll be perfect for the N.E.W.T. classes."

"Oh!" Lily gasped, her pretty face lighting up with excitement. "Is it the new mahogany set?" Olivia nodded and pulled out the wood box. The two girls both smiled at the set and jumped into talking about the N.E.W.T. classes they were looking forward to.

Marlene rolled her eyes and looked towards Mary, shaking her head. "Nerds. We're friends with the nerdiest girls in school."

* * *

James Potter was handsome. With jet black tousled hair, bright hazel eyes with spectacles, and good teeth with a crooked grin, it was hard for any girl to say that he wasn't _hot._ He had a strong jaw and good skin, was tall, around 6'1 to be exact, and only seemed to be getting taller. Because of Quidditch, James had the perfect build- broad shoulders, muscular arms, a narrow waist- every girl's dream.

Currently, the Quidditch Captain sat in the Marauder's compartment with Remus and Peter. Remus Lupin had light-brown, slightly shaggy hair, pale skin accompanied with a few old and new scratches, and light blue eyes. He was also very tall, slightly shorter than James, but always had very random growth spurts so no one knew how long that height would last. Peter Pettigrew had dirty blond hair that curled slightly on the back of his neck and ears, blue eyes that were the color of the sea, and a shy yet very happy smile. He was the shortest, around 5'7, and had a slim build.

James currently tapped his foot against the floor, his hazel eyes scanning over the piece of parchment that currently held most of his Quidditch plays. The 16-year-old chewed on his bottom lip and fiddled with the quill in his hands, his mind perfecting every single maneuver and play.

The Marauder's compartment was quiet, but in a peaceful way. With Peter fiddling with the Marauder's Map and Remus reading a book, it was a universal knowledge to all _not_ to disturb any of them.

But, of course, there always had to be one person to completely disregard that.

An obnoxious giggling broke into the compartment causing all three wizards to break from their concentration. A handsome teenager with black hair and light blue, practically grey, eyes stood with a Ravenclaw fifth year witch, the source of the annoying sound. He was around 6'1 and casually leaned against the compartment door, his arm around the Ravenclaw.

"Oh, didn't know you guys would still be in here." Sirius smirked at his three best friends and turned towards the girl. "Sorry, Joanne, I'll meet up with you later." The girl immediately pouted and after a few minutes of refusing, reluctantly left the Marauder's compartment.

"Liar," Remus spoke up after the witch had gone. "You knew fully well we would be in here."

"Exactly, Moony." Sirius pointed towards Remus, as if praising him for his right answer. Leaning back in the seat next to James, Sirius kicked his feet up on the table in front of them. "She was a bit too clingy. I had to drop her fast or she would insist we start dating." Sirius shuddered.

"'Cause dating is _so_ awful." Remus replied sarcastically, his eyes now glued to the book in front of him.

"Right you are," Sirius' smile vanished the moment they heard a shrill, nasally voice asking if anyone had seen James Potter just outside their compartment. "Uh oh," He mumbled seconds before their door opened.

"Oh, _there_ you are, James! I've been looking for you." A tiny third year Hufflepuff cried before running up to sit down next to him. She gave James a buck-toothed smile. "You know, Frank Longbottom says you're busy looking over Quidditch plays but I knew you would make time for _me_."

"Uh, hi, Callie." James mumbled as she leaned towards him, causing James to lean towards Sirius. Remus and Peter eyed the Hufflepuff with amused expressions while Sirius quietly snickered.

"How was your summer, James? I know with awfully rich parents you must have gone somewhere incredible! Not to mention how you're the only child! I bet they treat you wonderfully. I wish I had rich parents like yours. Then again, to have them as in-laws would be quite alright. I'm sure they're just _lovely_. So, where did you go?"

James blinked.

"We went to Rome," Sirius answered and chuckled when he saw Callie give him a dark look. "What? I lived with them this past summer so I went. Jealous?"

"How was Rome, James?" Callie continued as if Sirius didn't even speak. "I've never been but I heard it's wonderful. You know I would love to go there someday. Perhaps on our honeymoon. Then again, Paris would be nice too. Have you been there? I'm sure you have; you've been everywhere! Paris is just lovely during the winter time. Think of all the memories! Anyway, are you excited for Quidditch this year? I know I am; I'll be rooting for Gryffindor as always. Hufflepuff's alright but with _you_ as Gryffindor's captain the second year in a row you'll be unstoppable like last year. You're the best chaser this school's seen in _years_! Say-"

"Hey, Callie."

James sighed gratefully and looked to find Marlene standing there, holding back a laugh. She pointed behind her shoulder and continued. "You sister's looking for you. She's down by the end of the train and says it's an emergency."

"Kimberlee? Why would it be an emergency? She told me she was on a date."

"I don't know but she told me she really needed you. Like _now_."

Callie sighed. "Well, okay. I'll see you later, James." Before he could stop her, Callie placed a kiss on his cheek and was out the door as fast as she had walked in.

"Creepy Callie back at it again." Sirius announced as Marlene laughed and took the seat where Callie had just occupied.

"I was already heading over here to see you guys when I could hear her voice down the hall. Has she always been like that? I don't remember Callie being completely obsessed you with all the time."

"It started halfway through our fifth year." Peter answered with a shake of his head. "He helped pick her books up after she dropped them and just like that, she was in love."

"I regretted it ever since." James added.

"By the way, Blondie, are you sitting with us for dinner? We could use some girl company. I mean, you're probably the only girl Peter's ever seen this year." Sirius smirked over towards Wormtail who hit him in the shoulder.

"I wish, but I already told Lily, Olivia, and Mary I would sit with them."

"Ah, you're _girl squad._ "

"How about breakfast tomorrow?"

Sirius smiled. "Sounds good."

* * *

"Have you noticed Florence Nightingale?" Sirius gestured towards the Hufflepuff table, watching as the brunette laughed happily with her friends. "Is it just me or did she suddenly become hot?"

"She _did_ just break up with Adrian Foster," Remus informed, watching the pretty girl as well. "Maybe you're seeing her as a single bird now."

"Wait a second… " James mumbled. "Sirius, _rebound_."

Gasping the two guys looked at each other and simultaneously shouted: "Dibs!"

"I said it first-"

"No way, Padfoot. I did!"

"Well, Prongs, I'm older, so clearly _I_ get to sleep with her-"

"C'mon, dibs doesn't work like that!"

"Oh, yeah-"

"Guys!" Remus shouted, causing the two to stop. He rolled his eyes as they slowly walked towards the Gryffindor table. "That's completely unethical."

"It's fair and square, Moony. Look it up." Sirius replied, nudging James with a smirk.

"What about Mary Macdonald? She's very pretty." Peter piped up, glancing towards the pretty brunette as they passed by her, Lily, Olivia, and Marlene, who were already sitting for dinner. The other three looked towards the girls, waving to Marlene who happily waved back.

Unable to stop himself, James glanced towards Lily, who had already returned to her conversation with Mary. He felt his stomach flip the moment his eyes landed on the 16-year-old but he soon forced his eyes off of her. James remained quiet when the four boys found seats, his mind quickly returning towards Lily.

"Good choice, Wormtail, good choice." Sirius nodded as he smirked towards Peter. "I would literally pay you five galleons if you asked her out this week."

"Really?" Peter raised an eyebrow. "Well, maybe I'll just do that."

Sirius barked out a laugh as Remus nudged James gently, a look of concern written across his face. "James, everything okay?"

Blinking as if from a trance, James nodded. "Oh yeah, everything's fine." With one last look towards the beautiful redhead, James faced forward and veered his thoughts to the conversation at hand.

The Quidditch Captain had decided over the summer and was absolutely determined _not_ to think about Lily Evans this year. In fact, he was almost positive he could succeed. He would distract himself with other girls, Quidditch, and classes, leaving no room for the girl he's been in love with since first year. _Yeah, that's totally normal to love a girl that long._

But it felt like that whole determination that grew over the summer went down the drain the moment he looked at her a few seconds ago. Whatever pull she had on him, it definitely wasn't going anywhere. But that just made James' resolve to move on from the girl who would never love him back that much stronger.

* * *

"York, Kara." It took about 2 minutes for the sorting hat to decide. When the hat finally decided, it yelled at the top of its lungs, "RAVENCLAW!" Cheers from the Ravenclaw table surfaced as the tiny first year quickly ran to the house table. She blushed and smiled a buck-toothed smile as a few Ravenclaw's congratulated her in joining.

Lily politely cheered with the crowd and shared a smile with Olivia. "We should introduce ourselves to the first years later. Let them know they have someone to talk to."

"Great idea,"

"Oh, Saint Lily." Marlene joked from across the table. "We will never be worthy to be in your presence."

Lily rolled her eyes and laughed as Dumbledore stepped up to the podium. He raised his thin hands, causing the Great Hall to be silenced, and smiled. Lily could have sworn his eyes twinkled with mischief and kindness, as they always did, and she momentarily felt his eyes glance towards her.

Lily smiled as Dumbledore began speaking.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We welcome with open arms, our beloved first years, and hope you all have a _magical_ school year." He chuckled to himself before continuing. "We also like to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Eric Truman! Most of you might have already known him, he graduated from this school just three years ago." Dumbledore began to clap, causing the entire Great Hall to follow his pursuit. "Now, I'd like to say a few words- bumfuzzle, cattywampus, fawkes, and jelly slugs! Thank you very much. Now enjoy dinner! Especially the tarts."

* * *

"Why are you so chummy with the Marauders? James is Lily's sworn enemy."

Marlene rolled her eyes at Mary's comment. "They're not bad at all. They're nice blokes; I really enjoy their company. Spent most of the summer with them, actually."

"What?" Lily blinked, looking up from her dinner. "You didn't tell me that."

"Yeah, figured you wouldn't care if I was hanging out with James. Since you hate him and all that. And you don't mind do you?"

"Why would I mind? It's not like we dated. And I don't _hate_ him-" Lily looked down the Gryffindor table, towards James who was laughing with the Marauders at something Davey Gudgeon said. "You of all people should know how annoying and a complete jerk he was during fourth and fifth year."

"I have noticed how he didn't ask you out _once_ during this entire day." Mary added, observing James as well. "In fact, I don't think he's even looked at you today."

"Hmm," Lily chewed slowly on her slice of ham, her green eyes watching as James habitually ran a hand through his hair and smiled towards Tara, a fifth year who sat next to him. The girl blushed and smiled back. "Well," Lily looked back towards her friends. "Bully for him."

"Maybe he's finally gotten over you," Olivia remarked.

When the students had all finished their desserts, Professor Dumbledore stood once more at the podium with a satisfied smile on his aging face. "I know that this year," Dumbledore casually looked towards the Gryffindor table, "Is going to be important. This year people will change, relationships will grow, and memories will be made." He slowly made his twinkling eyes that were shielded by half-moon spectacles across every House table. "Some of you might think," Dumbledore glanced towards the Gryffindor table, his blue eyes maneuvering between a few people. "That this is just another year at Hogwarts but I want to remind all of you, that this year, everything is going to change. Whether it be relationships, skill, knowledge, or even love, it will all come to pass. And we all must let it be. Now, get to bed. We have school tomorrow!"

 **Chapter songs:**

 **James/Lily - Here I Am by Tom Odell.**

 **Everyone -** **Future Looks Good by OneRepublic.**

 **I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please favorite and review!**

 **Thanks for reading. X.**


	2. Everything We Do Has Consequences

**Hi, guys! Here's the next chapter in Of Witches and Wizards. I hope you enjoy it! X.**

 **CHAPTER 2**

" **Everything We Do Has Consequences"**

"I think I'm being hunted."

"Uh…"

"I'm being serious." Marlene quickly caught onto what she said and shook her head. "No pun intended."

Sirius rolled his eyes.

The two were currently walking from the Great Hall, having just eaten lunch, now heading towards the Gryffindor common room for free time. Marlene had asked if Sirius would walk back with her, since both of their friend groups stayed longer.

The two Gryffindor Chasers had just turned a corner when Marlene continued. "You know when I tricked Creepy Callie into leaving the compartment yesterday?"

Sirius looked down at the blonde, confusion written over his handsome face. "Yeah?"

"You know Kimberlee Rose, her older sister?" When Sirius still looked confused, Marlene continued. "Hufflepuff Seeker, sixth year, blonde, huge rack, total slut."

"Ah, Kimmy." Sirius smirked suggestively. "She sure was great."

"I'm just gonna ignore that," Marlene scrunched her nose up in disgust. "But all day today, I've noticed her sending me glares. Even when I confronted her about it she just glared and walked away. I asked Bertram Aubrey and he told me that Kimberlee has a death wish. I think Callie told her what I did and she's going all _protective-sister_."

"That's ridiculous," Sirius rolled his eyes. "Kimberlee wouldn't despise you just because you messed with her sister."

"I don't know, when younger siblings are messed with, the older one always steps in to help."

"I don't do that with Regulus." Sirius commented casually.

"That's because you hate each other."

"The truth."

"Anyway, I swear Kimberlee is hunting me! But could you blame me? It's _Creepy Callie_ we're talking about!"

"What did you say about my sister?" A cold voice shouted behind the pair.

Tensing, Marlene grabbed Sirius hand who couldn't help but smirk. "Wow, you were right." He mumbled, glancing behind him. "And she's got a cup. I wonder how she's gonna murder you with that."

" _Prat_. Stay with me."

"Oh, I gladly will. Chick fights are my favorite."

The two turned around, watching as the Hufflepuff marched up. Marlene tightened her grip around Sirius' hand but she held her chin high and defiantly met Kimberlee's glare.

"This is for manipulating my sister!" In one fluid motion, Kimberlee poured a glass of pumpkin juice all over Marlene's uniform. Marlene gasped as the cold liquid traveled down her body, sending shivers throughout her body. Her black robes immediately began to stain and her white button-up grew transparent because of the drink, revealing her black bra.

Marlene furiously wiped the liquid off of her face and looked down at her uniform, groaning. "This was new."

"The entire uniform or just that bra?" Sirius asked, smirking at Marlene's glare.

"You idiot." Marlene laughed, momentarily forgetting about the girl in front of her, as she ran a hand through her now sticky blonde hair.

"Don't ever mistreat my sister, you hear me?" Kimberlee shouted, gaining the Gryffindors attention.

"It's not our fault she's a complete _creep_ obsessed with James." Marlene didn't realize she had said it until the words left her mouth. Gasping, Marlene's eyes grew wide and she looked up at Sirius, whose mouth fell open. "Did I just say that?" Marlene whispered as Sirius chuckled.

"You did, McKinnon. Now I get to see a chick fight." Right after Sirius had said those words, Marlene was tackled to the ground.

Kimberlee screamed as she blindly threw a punch towards Marlene. The Gryffindor quickly dodged it and tried pushing her off with a grunt but failed. While she did so, Kimberlee grabbed a fistful of Marlene's hair, tugging harshly. The two began to roll around on the stone floor, both trying to gain dominance in the fight. Marlene kicked Kimberlee in the shin but soon received a hard scratch on her arm. Curse words were being thrown between the two girls as a crowd gathered, watching the fight curiously. Most of them were laughing, some looked disappointed, while first years looked absolutely horrified.

"Alright, alright," Sirius finally spoke as he gathered Marlene in his arms, pulling her off of Kimberlee with ease. He set her behind him and quickly grabbed Kimberlee's arms, holding her in place. "I can't believe I'm stopping this. Oh, and Professor McGonagall saw the whole thing."

"She didn't," Marlene groaned.

"McKinnon! Rose!" Professor McGonagall's voice confirmed Marlene's worrying doubt. "My office. _Now_!"

* * *

"Well?"

Marlene sighed, meeting up with Sirius just outside McGonagall's office. Her uniform was still stained brown and her hair was sticky, clinging to her neck and forehead. But despite all of that, she remained absolutely beautiful to Sirius, who would _definitely_ keep that to himself. "I have detention during free time today."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "That's 2 hours."

"And 15 points were taken from Gryffindor."

" _Wow_ , McKinnon."

"But, Kimberlee got 20 deducted for Hufflepuff since she started the fight so there's that."

"Weren't you the reason this thing started?"

"Shhh," Marlene placed a hand on her thin pink lips and winked up at Sirius. "Anyway, I have to go back, shower, and change."

"Need any help?"

"Funny." Marlene rolled her eyes, although her cheeks turned pink. "Tell my friends where I am, alright? I have only 10 minutes before I have to go back to McGonagall's."

Sirius nodded as the two walked up to the Fat Lady. When Marlene gave the password, the pair walked into the common room and soon took their separate ways. Sirius watched as the small blonde took the steps to girls dormitory two at a time, humming quietly to herself.

With a smile, Sirius turned and walked back out, in search for her friends.

* * *

Olivia Hudson tapped her fingers gently against the spines of the many books she passed. The sixth year was currently in the library in search for a novel she wanted to reread. She had just entered the last aisle in her search when a deep voice broke her thoughts.

"Well, if it isn't Lovely Livie."

Rolling her eyes, Olivia smiled towards the black-haired boy. "James." The girl looked up towards the top shelf, peering for _Pride and Prejudice._ She slowly made her way further into the aisle, her eyes glued at the books, as the handsome boy followed after her.

"What are you looking for?" James asked, leaning against the shelf with his hands in his pockets. He eyed the pretty girl curiously.

"It's a muggle book. Called _Pride and Prejudice_ by Jane Austen." Olivia answered but soon blinked. She looked towards James, who was smirking, and raised an eyebrow. "You want something."

"Oh, I want a lot of things, Lovely Livie." James responded, a glint of amusement in his hazel eyes.

Shaking her head, Olivia continued searching. "Alright, James. What do you want with _me_?"

"What I want to know is why are you in this horrendous place, looking for a pointless book, when you could be out, enjoying life?"

"And what is your idea of enjoying life?"

"I can name a few." James winked and stood up straight.

Olivia blushed and pushed James playfully. "Wanker." She turned back to the shelf, her green eyes hoping to find the book soon. After all, she's been searching for over 10 minutes. This shelf was her last resort.

"Alright, alright." James reached up and pulled a book out of it's place, giving it to the teenager. Olivia furrowed her eyebrows as her small hands took the book silently. When her eyes read the title, the witch smiled. _Pride and Prejudice._ "You owe me." With one last crooked smile, the Quidditch Captain sauntered out of the aisle. He was almost around the corner when Olivia caught up to him. Together they checked out the book and exited the library.

"So," Olivia ran a hand through her curled black hair, that was cut in a long-bob, and glanced up towards the tall wizard. " _If,_ I said if, I were to hang out with you… What would we do?"

They had reached the stairs. He gestured towards the one that went down. Olivia had two options: take the other stairs and go up to the common room where she could start her book, or take the stairs with James, heading out into the courtyard. She eyed him curiously, clutching onto her book. "It's up to you, Olivia. We can do whatever you want." James smirked.

"We can't hang out." Olivia stated with a shrug.

James raised an eyebrow. "And why's that?"

"Because I'm Lily's friend. Isn't there, like… supposed to be some rule? To not be friends with your friend's enemies?"

"Well, I'm not much of rule follower, Olivia." James gestured towards the stairs. "C'mon. I'm sure Lily won't mind. I'm good company, after all."

"You're not self-centered at all." Olivia rolled her eyes. She bit down on her lip as her heart picked up in speed. _Lily said she didn't mind it when Marlene told her she hung out with James and the situation is the same thing, right? And it's not like they dated. I'm not breaking any unspoken rules. We're just hanging out._ Olivia pushed down the slight guilt that gnawed at her stomach. _It's fine. Lily won't mind. She'll be completely fine with this._

Smiling, Olivia put the book in her bag that was slung over her shoulder. "Fine." She stated simply and followed James down the stairs and into the courtyard.

* * *

"I saw James and Olivia out in the courtyard."

"So?"

"They looked like they were having fun," Mary groaned and leaned her head against the table in front of her. "Why do we have to be _here_ for our free time? Marlene's in detention and it feels like we're in detention too. Let's go out and join them."

Looking up from her book, Lily raised an eyebrow. "What were they doing?"

"Playing exploding snap. I heard them talking about going to the Quidditch pitch later, too. Can we go? I hate the library; it smells like old lady and nerds in here,"

Lily sighed. "You can go. I need to finish this."

"What? It's not even the third day! C'mon, Lils. Live a little. Enjoy life!"

"I am enjoying life. With _this,_ " Lily held up _Sense and Sensibility_.

"Boring." Mary sighed and stood up. "Fine, do what makes you happy. When you change your mind, and realize how much fun you _could_ be having, I'll be with James and Olivia."

Biting down on her lip, Lily watched her friend skip off to find the other sixth years. _She's absolutely happy, sitting here, reading. It's peaceful and relaxing. She doesn't need to go outside in the cold with her friends. It's fine. Plus, Potter's there, why would she want to go out anyway? Why would she want to join in on all the fun?_

"Lily," A soft voice interrupted her thoughts.

The redhead looked up and immediately closed her book. Her lungs squeezed up in anger as she quickly threw her book in her bookbag. Tears stung her eyes as she gathered everything she needed with shaking hands. "I don't want to talk to you."

"But, Lily-"

"No, Sev." Lily quickly stood up. "I have to meet my friends, anyway." With a glance towards the Slytherin, who was watching her, Lily turned and quickly walked out of the library.

* * *

"I think I have an answer to the problem."

"What problem?"

"Why Peter can't get a date."

Peter rolled his eyes at Sirius, who was smirking. "Git. I can too get a date."

"Really?" Sirius looked towards Remus who shrugged. "How?"

Just then, a girl turned the corner, practically skipping. Her brown hair brushed past her shoulders at her fast walking and a gorgeous smile was on her lips.

"Wow, fate works in mysterious ways." Sirius shoved Peter towards Mary Macdonald. "Now's your chance, Wormtail."

"Oh, hey guys! You headed out to the courtyard too?" Mary waved to the three Marauders.

"Courtyard?" Remus spoke up.

"James and Olivia are out there playing exploding snap."

"And he didn't invite us." Sirius shook his head and placed his hands on his hips, in mock disapproval. "Well, Wormtail, this'll have to wait. Let's go join our todger friend."

* * *

"That cheeky boy," Sirius smirked, watching James a few feet away. "Man, even I haven't scored Olivia." With a sigh, Sirius started walking towards the two. "Challenge accepted."

Rolling his eyes, Remus grabbed Sirius' arm. "You're seriously not going to just take Olivia away from James, are you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"That's rude!"

"Well, we can let her pick."

"She's more of a Potter, girl. She's told me." Mary spoke up.

"Crap."

"Hey, Prongs." Peter spoke up for the group once they reached the two who were in the middle of the courtyard. Olivia was giggling and pointing towards James, who had just lost the recent game of exploding snap. Smoke covered his arms at the explosion from one of the cards and he pretended to glare towards the girl in front of him. Pulling out a cloth from her robes, Olivia wiped off the smoke, still giggling adorably.

"Hey, guys." James looked towards his friends, a smile growing on his lips. "Where have you been?"

"We could ask the same about _you_." Sirius winked, nodding towards Olivia who had just started up a conversation with Mary.

James smirked and shrugged. "Oh well, you know… "

"Playing the field." The two boys shared a look, Remus rolled his eyes, and Peter laughed.

"Anyway," Mary looked towards James. "Can we join you?"

James nodded. "'Course."

As the six teenagers started a new game of exploding snap, a seventh one watched from the entrance a few yards away. She clutched her bag nervously and chewed on her bottom lip. The redhead eyed each of the members, watching how James smiled towards Olivia who blushed back, how Remus shared a rare, genuine laugh with Peter, and how Mary nearly shoved Sirius after he told her something (inappropriate, presumably). Lily pulled some of her hair behind her shoulders and took a deep breath.

It really did look like a lot of fun. And she would have joined them, any other day. But after that encounter with Snape, Lily suddenly felt like going back to her dormitory and sleeping. The witch hadn't planned on speaking with Snape. In fact, she planned on not even looking towards him. But now that he actually had the guts to talk to her, Lily wasn't so sure. She didn't want to talk with him, that's for sure. She still needed time to think. She still needed time to heal from what happened last year.

Lily looked behind her shoulder, making sure no one was behind her. She needed to be alone. She didn't want to risk another encounter with Snape, which now seemed even more likely after he had just walked up to her a few minutes ago. So, with a sigh, the witch turned, ignoring the group's laughter, and headed up to the dormitory.

Lily even managed to convince herself that this is what she wanted.

She assumed that was the reason her heart was feeling so hollow. That Snape was the reason her heart was aching so much. But, at the time, Lily didn't know that her heart was aching for an entirely different reason.

 **Chapter songs:**

 **James/Lily - River by Bishop Briggs.**

 **Everyone - Something New by The Score.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Sorry that there wasn't any James/Lily encounter in this chapter. Trust me, there's one in the next one. Please review! The next chapter will be posted very soon!**

 **Thanks for reading. X.**


	3. News and Professors

**I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter!**

 **CHAPTER 3**

" **News and Professors"**

 **TWO MUGGLE-BORN WIZARD'S MURDERED BY DEATH EATERS.**

Sirius looked over James' shoulder to read the _Daily Prophet_ at breakfast the next morning. "Two, now? Man, the numbers just keep increasing."

"Why isn't the Ministry doing anything?" Peter asked, looking at his own newspaper. "I mean, we lost _four_. Not to mention all of the witches and wizards going missing."

"I'm sure the Ministry is doing everything they can to stop the Death Eater movement." Remus assured the blond-haired boy sitting next to him, although his own confidence faltered slightly. "What about your dad, James?"

James looked up from the newspaper and shrugged. "He's trying to keep me in the dark about it and doesn't tell me much. Mum worries about him since he's the Head Auror and has a lot of influence because of our name. But so far, what he's told me, is that they haven't found anything that could possibly lead them to Voldemort-"

"-James." Remus sternly interrupted, tensing at the use of the name. Peter cringed but Sirius and James remained completely still, as if they hadn't heard or spoke Voldemort's name.

" _You know who,_ " James corrected himself through gritted teeth. "This is ridiculous. I don't care if I say his name, I'm not afraid."

"Yes, but other people are." Remus replied. "Respect them and their feelings."

James rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine. I'll write to dad later today and see if he can tell me anything else," James opened up the _Daily Prophet_ , in search for the Quidditch section. "I hate being in the dark." He grumbled as he reached for a hash brown.

After about five minutes of tense silence, Sirius looked up from the paper and sighed. He needed a distraction. Something that made him not think about what was really going on in the real world while they were stuck at Hogwarts. Something that made him not think about his parents, or his brother, or cousins. Something that made him not think about Voldemort himself.

Sirius reached for another strip of bacon and chewed on it obnoxiously. He glanced down the table and immediately smirked, finding his distraction. "So, Prongs, how was your date with Olivia last night?" He asked, watching the girl chat with Lily.

James shrugged, his eyes glued to the paper. "Fine. She's a lot more fun than I thought she was."

"It's because she's good in school," Remus rolled his eyes. "You think anybody who has perfect scores is a bore."

"That's because most of them are, _Moony_."

"Did ya get lucky?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.

James shook his head, turning the next page to read about Puddlemore United. "We kissed."

"Good kisser?"

" _Great_ kisser."

"That's my boy."

* * *

"So, Olivia," Marlene began with a knowing smile on her pretty face. "How was your date with James last night?"

Olivia glanced towards Lily, guilt gnawing at her stomach, and smiled shyly. Lily looked up from the _Daily Prophet_ , her attention on the conversation between the four girls. When she met Olivia's gaze, Lily smiled and nodded. Olivia pursed her lips as she reached for a piece of toast. "It was fine." Olivia tried to keep it casual and vague, not wanting to go into detail for the sake of her friend.

"Oh, c'mon, Liv." Marlene rolled her eyes. "Tell the truth." Olivia pretended to be completely immersed in buttering the toast and remained quiet.

"Did you kiss?"

Olivia blushed. "No… "

Shaking her head, Marlene smirked. "Sex?"

"What? _No!_ " Olivia dropped her toast and reached across the table, smacking Marlene's hand who was laughing. "Gosh, Marlene! We just kissed, alright? I didn't want to go any further because of-" Olivia stopped mid sentence. Realizing her mistake, Olivia returned to her toast, her face bright red.

"Because of… ?" Marlene raised an eyebrow but looked towards Lily who was confused.

"Who?" Lily spoke up.

"Uh…" Olivia took a bite of her toast and chewed slowly. She looked towards Mary who stared at her wide-eyed, mentally sharing the message to _not say who._ Gulping, Olivia looked down at the table towards James who was chatting casually with Sirius. _What she would give for a Marauder's prank right now to distract Lily._

"Liv, c'mon." Lily continued, causing the witch to turn and look at her friend. "Just tell us."

"Because of… " Olivia hesitantly started. "Because of… you."

Lily blinked. "Me?"

"Yeah, you."

"Me?"

"Yep."

"Lily Evans?"

"Lily Evans."

" _Me?"_

"Oh my gosh!" Mary exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "Yes, you! She feels guilty for going on a date and kissing James because of _you,_ Lils."

Silence.

All three witches stared at the redhead who furrowed her eyebrows. Then suddenly, Lily burst out laughing. The three shared confused looks as Lily continued to laugh rather loudly, wiping a tear from her eye. A few students sitting nearby gave the prefect weird looks until finally, Lily quieted down.

"I hope you're joking, Olivia." Lily sighed, a smile resting on her lips.

"I… I'm not." Olivia whispered, clutching onto her toast, watching as Lily's smile slowly faded.

"What?"

"I don't know… I just felt guilty for even hanging out with him. I mean, you guys have an interesting relationship. Passionate hatred for eachother but it's still something between you two. I felt like I didn't want you to feel betrayed if I kissed him. You're my friend, Lils. I just didn't want to disappoint you but I… couldn't help myself." Olivia blushed. "He is _very_ good company, after all."

Mary giggled.

"Olivia," Lily smiled a genuine smile and even for a second, Lily believed it was real. "It's fine. _I'm_ fine. I don't care if you kissed James. You're my friend and the whole thing with James and I, if you can even call it that, is just between us. We don't get along, like _at all_. I'm fine if you two get along; it's really alright. Don't feel guilty. It's fine."

Olivia raised an eyebrow, still unconvinced. "You sure?"

Lily ignored the weird sensation in the pit of her stomach and nodded. "Absolutely."

* * *

Mary Macdonald happily strolled down the hallway, having just returned from breakfast. She was heading towards the common room, wanting to grab her bag before the third day of classes started. Turning a corner, Mary glanced towards a few third-year Hufflepuff's who were walking the opposite way of her. One of them smiled politely and the sixth year returned it, her beautiful face lighting the way it always did when she smiled.

When the third-year's were down the hall, Mary hummed softly to herself, the hallway now deserted with the exception of her. She turned another corner and gasped, coming into contact with someone much larger than she was. Stumbling back, Mary opened her mouth to apologize until she saw the Slytherin robes. Glaring, Mary looked up into the dark eyes of one of the worst Slytherin's she knew.

Trent Mulciber.

"Well, look who we have here." Mulciber smirked darkly, leaning forward towards Mary. "Come back for more curses?"

Backing away, Mary glared. Her mind jumped to the memory of getting cursed by Mulciber back in 5th year, although she tried to stop herself from thinking it. Mary doesn't remember much of it, all except the coldness. The coldness that entrapped her entire body, that made her under Mulciber's control. It took her _days_ to recover and ever since then, the brunette refused to be anywhere near Slytherin's. Mary managed to do so, until now.

Mary's heart pounded against her chest, worried that Mulciber would try something. The Gryffindor maneuvered around him and continued walking down the hall as fast as she could.

She gasped when a large, cold hand gripped her arm tightly and pulled her back. Mary stumbled at the roughness and tried pulling herself free from his increasingly tighter grip.

"Let go of me!" Mary growled, using her other small fist to punch Mulciber in the chest.

With a cold, evil smile, Mulciber shoved her back, causing the small girl to stumble onto the floor. He stepped up as she quickly pulled her skirt down from the fall. She kept her glare on him as he leaned down and pointed towards her. "Careful, sweetheart-"

"Hey!"

Tensing, Mulciber looked up and immediately growled.

Frank Longbottom was walking up with a Ravenclaw prefect named Reginald Cattermole, a look of worry and suspicion etched across his face. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing, Longbottom." Mulciber backed away. "I was just helping up a fellow Hogwarts student."

"Mulciber-"

"I was just leaving." Mulciber interrupted the Head Boy and started walking past them. "I look forward to seeing you in class, Mary." With one last evil smirk, the Slytherin was down the hall.

"I hate that guy." Mary mumbled, grabbing the offered hand Frank gave her. She slowly stood up and fixed her wrinkled sweater with a sigh.

"Just… make sure you're not alone, Mary. Alright?" Frank responded, looking after Mulciber. "Knowing him, he's probably gonna try something again."

" _That's_ comforting."

"Do you need us to walk you to the common room? I was actually headed to the prefect room, but if you need it-"

Just then, the Marauders turned the corner, chatting animatedly about jelly slugs. Seeing the boys, Mary smiled with relief. "No, I'll just walk with the Marauders. Thanks, Frank and uh, person I don't know."

Reginald smiled shlyly. "Reginald."

Mary reached forward and shook his hand politely. "Mary." With a nod goodbye, Mary skipped up to meet the four boys and the five soon made their way back to the common room.

* * *

"I can't believe you ran into Mulciber," Lily whispered, sitting next to Mary in Defense Against the Dark Arts that next hour. "And… he didn't hex you at all?"

"No," Mary shook her head, as students filed in to take their seats for the class. "But, I had a feeling he was coming up with one before Frank interrupted."

"Thank goodness Frank was there," Lily sighed as Marlene and Olivia took seats in front of them and turned around.

"We heard about what happened," Marlene began.

"Are you okay?" Olivia continued.

Mary nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay. He didn't hex me or anything." The other two shared relieved looks as the new Professor strolled in, shutting the door behind him.

The moment Professor Truman walked into the room, every single female in the classroom erupted in whispers. Some bravely waved towards him, some blushed, while others gushed on about how hot he was.

"Okay, is it just me or did Eric Truman get a million times hotter after he graduated?" Mary mumbled towards Lily, who was also watching the young professor.

"Oh definitely." Lily replied, running a hand through her hair in an attempt to look slightly more presentable in front of Professor Truman.

"I remember him being awkward and lanky, not drop dead gorgeous."

"I think you're thinking of him in fourth year," Marlene mumbled behind her shoulder, twirling a strand of blonde hair between her small fingers. "Did you forget that he played Quidditch? Bloody talented as a keeper, if you ask me. I'm surprised he didn't pursue a career in Quidditch-"

"Get to the point, Marlene."

"Anyway, he hit a growth spurt during his fifth year and suddenly got cute. Do you even remember that he was Head Boy when we were fourth years? People wanted to vote him the best looking Head Boy in Hogwarts history."

"What? How did I not know this?!"

Before the girls could continue their conversation, they were interrupted by Professor Truman coughing loudly. The class quieted immediately and all eyes were on him a moment later.

"Good morning, everyone," Professor Truman sent the class a charming smile. "Now, can I all have you open your textbooks to page 236?" As the students did so, Professor Truman slid out his wand from the inside pocket of the jacket he wore and flicked it. Within seconds, the chalkboard behind him began writing information.

"Now," The young man looked around the room, a smile resting on his lips. "Can anyone tell me what we're talking about? Careful, now, it might be hard to answer, considering the chalkboard and the textbook in front of you." He stated sarcastically earning a soft laugh from the students. "Potter, what are we studying?"

James sat next to Sirius in the back of the class, behind Remus and Peter. The teenager in question was leaning back in his chair, tipping it every so often. His long legs were stretched out in front of him and his arms were crossed over his chest. James cocked his head to the side as a crooked smirk grew on his cheeks. The dimple on his cheek formed as his smirk widened. "We're studying Dementors, _dear Professor_."

"Sarcasm, James, but I'll take it." Professor Truman winked and pushed himself off of the desk as he tossed James a pumpkin pasty. He walked over to the chalkboard lazily and part of the class sighed inaudibly. The 20-year-old nodded towards the sentence written out. "I suggest you all start writing this down. Can anyone tell me what a dementor is, exactly?"

A few hands shot up into the air. He looked around the classroom and soon, his eyes rested on Olivia. Professor Truman smiled softly. "Olivia," He nodded.

"A dementor is a Dark creature that feeds on human happiness and souls. They were employed by the Ministry of Magic to guard Azkaban back in 1718."

"Excellent," He threw a pumpkin pasty towards Olivia, who caught it with ease. "What is the Dementor's most lethal weapon? Lily."

"The Dementor's kiss."

"Great," Another pumpkin pasty. "Now, can anyone tell me what charm is used to protect ourselves from Dementor's? Adrian."

"A patronus charm."

Pumpkin pasty.

"Do you have anything organic?"

"I could give it someone else."

"Right, okay. This is excellent." The Ravenclaw took a bite and shivered. "Fattening… yummy."

"Remind me to make fun of Adrian's psycho diet later," Sirius whispered towards James who smiled.

* * *

"No, no, no," Lily kept mumbling to herself as she ran past students all cluttered around in one of the main hallways. She politely squeezed her way through, apologizing if she accidentally hit someone, and continued running. The strap of her bag kept sliding down her shoulder and she grumbled, pulling it up for what seemed like the hundredth time that moment.

Looking down, the redhead pulled the strap higher on her shoulder and glanced up. In that moment, Lily felt her foot hit another's leg, giving in. She gasped when her balanced faltered, causing the prefect to head straight for the ground. Lily squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for impact, when a pair of strong hands gripped her arms. Warmth spread through her entire body at the contact, and Lily wondered briefly who it could be that made her feel this way. When she was set on her feet firmly, Lily looked up at her savior.

Her stomach twisted. _Oh no…_ Lily glared.

"What?"

"Why did you do that?"

"Do what? Help you?" James Potter raised his eyebrows, placing his large hands in his pockets.

"You didn't have to do that. _Really."_ Lily folded her arms and raised her chin. This was the very first encounter she had with James this year. _One of many_ , she presumed. Lily groaned at the thought.

James smirked coldly. "I'll gladly let you fall next time, Evans. I wouldn't think you would actually blame _me_ for helping _you_."

"Well I am blaming you."

"Fine."

"Good."

"Excellent."

"Swell."

"You're ridiculous."

"Why did you do that, anyway?"

"You're seriously asking me that?" James glared down at the witch, his height on her at least 9 inches.

"It's a reasonable question." Lily met his glare defiantly, despite how small she felt at the moment. He'd been very tall since he hit his growth spurt fourth year but it seemed he got even taller during the summer. More muscular too, but Lily tried not to notice.

James raised an eyebrow. "Why were you running?"

"Why are you avoiding my question?"

"Why are you avoiding _mine_?"

Lily groaned. "Fine. I was late to the prefect meeting. Now, since I answered yours, you have to answer mine."

"Hmm," James pretended to think about it and shrugged. "Nah, I'm good."

"Potter!"

"Yes?"

Shaking her head, Lily stormed past him. "I can't believe you."

"A _thank you_ would suffice."

Lily wheeled around and scoffed. "You expect me to thank you?"

James pursed his lips and nodded. "For saving your life, yes."

"It was just a trip." Lily glared, watching as James smirked, the dimples on his cheeks slowly forming.

"Saving your life from _embarrassment_ , Evans." James corrected. When his hazel eyes narrowed ever so slightly with humor, Lily consciously fixed the strap to her bookbag. "By the way, are you always that clumsy?"

Lily grew more angry. "I'm very well-balanced."

"Keep telling yourself that."

"You're impossible!"

"No, my name's James."

If Lily wasn't so furious, she would have actually laughed. What a _lame_ joke.

James cocked an eyebrow. "Well?"

"Hmm," Lily impersonated James' action from earlier and shrugged. "Nah, I'm good." James opened his mouth to reply but Lily turned around and started walking away.

"Hey- I was talking to you!" James called after Lily who began to smile but kept her fast pace. Her heart skipped unknowingly.

"I have more important things to do than talk to you, Potter!" Threw over her shoulder, briefly wondering if James would follow after her.

"That was a little mean, Evans!"

Lily turned around and, still walking backwards, shrugged innocently. James shook his head in response before the prefect turned back around to head towards the meeting she was already late for.

* * *

When Lily entered the prefect's room, chaos was erupting. She blinked in surprise at all the screaming students- some throwing things across the room at one another, some actually pushing others. Lily gasped and immediately ducked, avoiding an apple, of all things. She quickly ran to a safe corner where conveniently, Remus stood, a worried look etched across his pale face.

"What's going on?" Lily yelled over the shouting voices, grabbing Remus' arm for support. "It's madness!" She looked towards the light-brown haired boy and met his pale blue eyes.

"I only just showed up. They were already fighting when I came." Remus answered calmly and quickly leaned to the left, avoiding a book that crashed into the stone wall.

Lily's green eyes searched the prefect room, trying to pick out people through the crowd in the center. She was able to distinguish Frank and Dorcas, Head boy and Head girl, yelling over everybody and trying to calm them down. Despite their attempts, no one quieted. In fact, it seemed as if they would increase in volume every second.

She glanced to the far right, noticing that Snape was standing there with no intention of quieting nor participating in the fight in front of him. As if sensing her eyes, Snape looked over and the two old friends made eye contact. A sense of coldness washed over Lily and she immediately looked away, unwanted memories flooding her mind.

 _Mudblood…_

 _I would never call you that!_

 _I can handle myself, Potter._

 _I didn't mean it, Lily. I swear!_

 _Evans…_

Clutching her robes, Lily took a shaky breath. It happened a year ago… So, why did it still hurt? Her heart squeezed as the memory of Snape, James, and everyone else standing there became so clear in her head. It was as if it were yesterday.

 _I don't need help… especially from a filthy, little mudblood!_

Before Lily knew it, she was screaming.

"EVERYBODY QUIET!"

The room went silent. Lily sighed when all the eyes were on her.

"We're prefects," Lily began quietly. "We need to set a good example to the other students of this school. We need to act appropriately for them, for the teachers, and for ourselves. We're all held to a higher standard because Headmaster Dumbledore expects us to. He _knows_ we can. Fighting like this…it's wrong-"

"It was that _mudblood_ , Erica Niles!" Braxton Wilkes, a Slytherin 5th year, shouted as he pointed towards the Hufflepuff.

"Do _not_ call her that," Lily growled, giving Braxton a deep glare. He faltered, seemingly taken aback, but soon gained his composure and glared back at the redhead.

"It's the truth."

"His parents killed my uncle." Erica Niles spoke up earning a few shouts of disagreement from the Slytherin's. "It's true! They're death eaters and they killed my uncle who was one of the aurors!" The 5th year furiously wiped tears off her cheeks and shoved her way through, facing Braxton. "He's a Slytherin. They all were Slytherin's. What do you expect from his family?"

"Shut up, mudblood!"

 _Slap!_

The sound of Erica's slap across Braxton's face was loud enough to echo across the room. It seemed to bounce moments after she did it, still ringing in everybody's ears. Lily stared in surprise, watching as Erica momentarily looked triumphant.

Braxton touched his now reddened cheek, shock written across his dark features. After a moment of tense silence, Braxton turned and glared at Erica. Before anyone could react, Braxton raised his arms and shoved Erica back as hard as he could. The Hufflepuff gasped and stumbled backwards, only to be caught by Frank Longbottom.

"That is _enough_!" Frank shouted once Erica was safely on her feet and standing next to his girlfriend, Alice Day. "This is completely inappropriate and irresponsible-"

"Ah, shut up, Longbottom." Blake Rowle, a seventh year Slytherin, interrupted the Head Boy with a cold expression. "Like all the Gryffindors here, you have perfect lives and can't be bothered about anyone else's. All you care about is yourselves-"

"Say that again!" Toby Larson shouted, stepping up to the taller student. "Don't you dare say that about our house!"

"Why don't you make me?"

Chaos erupted for the second time. The shouts between the students grew increasingly deadly and louder as the fight wore on. Some shoved, slapped, or even pulled their wands out to threaten. The anger and tension Lily felt at that moment was almost too much to bear. It made her entire body feel warm inside and she was almost certain everyone else felt it too.

Glancing towards the door, Lily gasped. _She forgot to shut it._ Students gathered in the hall, whispering, as they watched all of the prefects push and scream. Her eyes landed on James, Sirius, and Peter who were exchanging looks. Lily briefly met James' eyes before she quickly noticed that all of her friends were standing there too.

There had to be at least 50 students watching the scene.

Which meant a professor would not be too far.

"We have to stop this-" Lily whispered towards Remus before she was cut off by her friend.

"QUIET!" Remus yelled at the top of his lungs with his fists shaking and his eyes squeezed shut.

"Thank you, Lupin, for doing it for me."

The students all looked towards the door and froze.

Professor McGonagall stood there, arms folded across her chest, and a stern look across her face. She wore emerald green robes that seemed to be layered all the way down to the floor and gathered perfectly behind her. Her black hair was pulled into the same tight bun and her bright green eyes stared at all the prefects through her square spectacles.

"Everyone. Dumbledore's office. _Now."_

* * *

"Well, this sure is a sight to behold." Dumbledore began with a hint of humor in his voice. The old wizard eyed all of the prefects silently as a smile fought his lips behind his long, white beard. His hands were placed delicately on his desk however he fiddled with them as he thought. "I'm sure you all know why you're here."

Every prefect nodded glumly.

"Fights between students are not allowed. Yes, people disagree at times and we don't all see eye to eye on things but, at Hogwarts, we must treat each other with kindness and respect. Here at Hogwarts, we are a family. Fighting like this, disrupts that. You all are prefects and your responsibility is to set an example for the other students as well as keeping other students behavior in check. This… _act_ disregarded your roles completely. Which leaves me to my last point," Dumbledore stood up and walked around his desk. "If anything like this happens again, I'm afraid we'll have to do something. It is not yet decided but we will intervene either way. Now, who participated in the fight?"

Most of the prefects raised their hands with the exception of a handful. Dumbledore looked at all of the students, as if deciding whether they were telling the truth or not. After a few silent seconds, Dumbledore nodded. "I'm afraid we will have to dock points for each of you that participated in this action. Let's say… 10 points each and detention tomorrow with your House professors. All of you may leave except those who hadn't engaged in the fight."

When most of the students were gone, Lily, who had been standing on the end, looked to see who had stayed. Frank Longbottom, Dorcas Meadows, Alice Day, Severus Snape, Pandora Daubney, and Remus Lupin. When Dumbledore coughed gently, Lily jumped and looked ahead, clutching onto her robes.

"First, I would like to thank you all for not joining in on the fight. That was the right choice. I would like to reward you guys 10 points each. Frank and Dorcas," Dumbledore looked towards the Head Boy and Girl. "I advise you speak to all of the prefects later this week about this incident and stress that it does not happen again." Dumbledore smiled and when he did, his blue eyes twinkled. "You all may leave. It's almost dinner time."

Lily shared a look with Alice before the seventh year took Frank's hand and the couple soon left. Severus turned and walked down the hall while Dorcas shared a soft word between Remus before waving goodbye.

"That was… " Remus began when Lily joined him at the entrance of Dumbledore's office.

"Interesting?" Lily finished with a smile and Remus returned it. Remus opened his mouth to say something else but he stopped short when Pandora Daubney accidentally bumped into him, having just walked out.

"Oh," The Ravenclaw prefect spoke up, her voice distant and dreamy as were her light blue eyes. "I'm sorry, Remus." The fifth year was silent for a moment before continuing. "You know, with Pixie lotion, I'm sure those scratches would come out. My mother makes a dozen bottles per week. It doesn't sell that often so I could give you quite a few. We don't get a lot of customers."

Remus blushed and avoided the girl's intense yet distant stare. "Uh, thanks, Pandora. I'm alright."

As if losing interest, Pandora looked towards Lily. "Hello, Lily Evans."

"Hi, Pandora." Lily smiled brightly at the younger witch. "How are you?"

"I'm quite alright," Pandora replied, her voice unnaturally quiet causing Lily to really strain to hear her. "I've lost a few textbooks this morning. They keep disappearing, you see. Have a mind of their own, I presume."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you need help finding them?"

"No, they always return after a few days. This happens a lot." Pandora looked somewhere (where, the Gryffindors had no idea) as the three walked slowly down the hall. "My robes often disappear too. And my quills. But it really is alright; the Ravenclaw's usually tell me after I ask them."

Lily pouted. It was quite obvious that her housemates were taking her things and eventually returning them. "Are you sure you don't need my help? I could speak to the Ravenclaw's if you want me to." _Tell them to stop bullying._

Pandora looked at Lily, a smile on her pale lips. "I'm in the process of discovering a new spell," Pandora had lost interest in the topic and Lily sighed at the change of course. "Heals dragon pox, I hope. It often stings the skin but after a few counterspells, the sensation stops. I've also discovered a spell that can help you see in the dark without anyone noticing. It works wonderfully. It helps me walk through the halls at night when I'm searching for my textbooks." Pandora hummed after that, as if forgetting that she were walking with other students. She swung her arms back and forth and blew some of her dirty blonde hair away from her face.

Remus and Lily both shared a look just as Pandora stopped suddenly.

"Well," Pandora looked at the two Gryffindors. "I really enjoyed this chat. I don't talk much with people, you see. Most of the time I speak with Xeno. You know him, right? He's in your year."

At the mention of the sixth year Ravenclaw wizard, the two nodded.

"He helps find my missing supplies, you know. Doesn't stop until I have them. He's very kind." Pandora smile distantly. "He's asked me to the first Hogsmeade trip. I usually don't go to those since other students follow me around and tease. But with him, I'm quite certain I'll have fun." Pandora looked down the hall and before Lily could continue the conversation, the blonde pointed. "There he is. Xeno Lovegood. What a wonderful name. I'll be seeing you Gryffindors later? I hope to get to know you both better. You're very kind."

"Definitely." Lily smiled.

"Yes, well," Pandora looked at Remus. "I'll give you a bottle of Pixie Lotion." And with that, the fifth year walked down the hall.

"Uh, no, that's alright, Pandora. I don't need it- and she's gone."

 **I'm sorry that the James/Lily interaction wasn't that big. There's some in the next chapter, which I'm very excited about. :3 This definitely wasn't my favorite chapter, I don't know why, but the next chapter is definitely one of my favorites. The fourth chapter will probably be posted this Saturday or Sunday! Please review and share this with your friends!**

 **Chapter songs:**

 **Everybody - Raise Hell by Dorothy and Jungle by X Ambassadors & Jamie N Commons. **


	4. Many Encounters (Part 1)

**Hello! Sorry I was a bit late posting this next chapter, these past few days have been a bit hectic. Originally, I had this into one massive chapter but I decided to split it into two because I felt it might be a bit easier to digest...I guess. Is that the right word? Eh, oh well. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one. I really liked writing it! :)**

 **CHAPTER 4**

" **Many Encounters (Part 1)"**

Halloween came quickly to Hogwarts along with the crisp, cold air and darkened skies. It was the morning of the holiday and a light rain fell on the school, giving off a grey haze that everyone seemed to be affected by.

It was a quiet morning, nothing really exciting happened. A Slytherin tripped a Hufflepuff on the way to breakfast, Sharon and Steven couldn't keep their hands off each other (like always), and no new gossip passed through the students. No one hexed another, no one got pregnant, no one got caught with underage drinking, nothing.

Breakfast passed by uneventfully, morning classes passed by painfully slow, and lunch seemed to be having the same plan.

Lily had just dropped by the Prefect's office, checking for this week's list of patrols, and made her way towards the Great Hall for lunch. She quietly strolled through the halls, the peaceful (or rather, boring) atmosphere allowing her to be alone in her thoughts.

Lily briefly thought about Snape, wondering what he would be doing at that moment, until her own mind caught what she was doing and quickly changed course. She thought about tonight's Transfiguration homework, the smile Charlie Honeycutt gave her this morning, her mum's letter that was delivered yesterday, until finally, it stopped on James. Lily wondered what he would be doing (something illegal, probably) and thought about tonight's Quidditch practice. It was bound to rain but that wouldn't stop James from cancelling practice. Nothing did.

Lily stopped. Her heart sputtered.

"What's wrong with me?" She found herself saying aloud, blinking from her insane thoughts. Lily glanced towards the window, looking out towards the grey sky. "It's the weather. It's got to be." She mumbled before continuing her pace towards the Great Hall.

Her mind quickly justified her thoughts, telling herself that she was just bored and when she was bored, Lily did stupid things. Like think about James Potter. He meant _nothing_ to her. He was just a fellow Gryffindor who annoyed the life out of her. It was that simple. That was it. Nothing more.

When Lily turned a corner, she stumbled to a stop. Heading her way right now was one of the least people she wanted to see today. Or at all. Her heart thundered against her chest, her hands grew hot, and anger churned unkindly in her stomach. Lily blinked, somehow hoping it was an illusion. But the person just kept getting closer and Lily couldn't move.

"Why are you blinking?" Severus Snape asked with a raised eyebrow, his voice quiet as it always was.

"Because I'm human." Lily bit back, her cheeks hot with fury.

Severus fixed the strap to his bag nervously and met Lily's glare with craven eyes. "Lily… " He began but Lily held up a small hand.

"Don't. Just, please, don't." Lily made a move to walk around him but stopped when he spoke up a little louder.

"Please, just hear what I have to say." Severus stared at her thin, tense shoulders. When she didn't move, he continued. "The Lily I know would give anybody a second chance, no matter what. You allow people to speak for themselves, to explain. Please, give me this chance." He tensed when Lily slowly turned around, a cold expression on her beautiful face.

The Gryffindor folded her arms. "Fine. Explain."

"I'm sorry."

Lily raised her eyebrows, unimpressed. Panic rose in Snape's chest and he quickly began to ramble, wanting to keep Lily here for a few more minutes. He missed her. He missed his best friend. He missed her smile, the way she spoke, her fiery personality, her love and loyalty for her friends… _for him_. Snape wanted to do everything he could to keep her in his life. Lily was the only good thing he had. He was afraid of losing her… of what he would do once he lost her. So, he kept talking, watching as the expressions on her face changed unsubtly.

"I'm sorry for calling you a, a, _that,_ and I'm sorry for yelling at you in front of everybody. I didn't mean to. It's just, Potter, he, I _hate_ him. I hate him so much. He's a giant prick and you know how he treated me _and you_ fourth and fifth year. I just got so angry at him, at everybody around us. I- I couldn't stop myself, I don't know why. I promise I don't think of you as a mudblood," Snape watched as Lily tensed at the word. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. But it's true, I don't think of you as that. I was just _angry_. All of the Marauders were standing there, the _entire school_ was standing there, I didn't know how to release my anger. And… and-"

"And I was just there? As your target?" Lily's hands curled into fists. Her cheeks and the tip of her nose were red in anger and her green eyes were so fiery, Snape had to resist the urge to look away.

This wasn't helping. He wasn't making things better. In fact, he was making things worse.

"No. I didn't mean it like that." Snape shook his head. "I'm just saying-" Movement behind Lily's head suddenly caught his attention. His dark eyes quickly looked passed Lily and once he did so, he felt his stomach drop.

James Potter was walking towards them, talking with a Ravenclaw boy. He hadn't seen them yet, which Snape knew would last only for a few seconds. Snape could feel the anger and panic closing in the moment the Ravenclaw waved goodbye and turned a corner.

Before James turned, Snape reached forward and grabbed Lily's arm.

"Ow! Severus, that hurts!" Lily cried, yanking her arm away and taking a few steps backwards. Tears grew in her eyes and Snape felt his heart crumple inside him. He hated making her cry. But _anything_ was better than an encounter with James.

"Please, Lily, let's go somewhere else-" Snape reached forward and grabbed her again to which she shoved him back.

"Don't you _dare_ touch me."

Snape quickly looked up and saw that James was staring at them. When Snape met James' hazel eyes, fear prickled against his skin. James was _pissed_. Of course he would be, anything Snape did pissed him off. But no… he hasn't seen him this angry. And Snape knew exactly why he was pissed: Lily was hurting.

"Lily," Snape reached forward once more but Lily smacked his hands away.

"Stop it-"

"Evans," Snape and Lily both tensed. Lily glanced behind her, watching as James walked up to the two of them, hands in his pockets. "Everything alright?"

"I'm fine." Lily growled and Snape momentarily felt happy. Happy that she still hated James as much as he hated him. Snape was _winning_. He may not have Lily right now but James sure didn't and that was better than anything.

"I don't need your help, Potter." With a final glare towards the Quidditch Captain, Lily turned back towards Snape. "And I don't want to talk to you either." Then Lily was walking down the hall, her red hair swishing side to side. The two boys watched as she left until finally, they realized they were alone.

"I'd be careful if I were you." James stated cooly, his hands still in his pockets. He made no move that signaled a hex but Snape remained completely tense, ready to defend himself. The Slytherin kept his eyes trained on the taller, more muscular boy, expecting something, _anything_ to happen any second. When James looked down at the small boy, his hazel eyes narrowed. "Hurt her again and you wish you'd never been born."

James sauntered away towards the Great Hall, hands still in his pockets, whistling to himself like nothing happened. Snape watched as a few Gryffindor girls skipped up to meet him and then they were gone.

Snape glared into the empty hallway. _The same goes for you, Potter._

* * *

"This doesn't feel right." James mumbled during lunch, having just finished his food. He propped his elbow up and rested his cheek against his hand, sighing deeply.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "What doesn't feel right?" He spoke between mouthfuls of turkey.

"This... _good_ act." James waved a hand in the air to give emphasis. "It's been almost two months and we haven't pulled a single prank."

"What about transfiguring Mrs. Norris into a crocodile and leaving her in Filch's office?" Peter spoke up from across the table.

"That was a few weeks ago." James grumbled as he reached for a chip. He chewed absentmindly on it as his hazel eyes wandered the Great Hall in boredom. "And we didn't even get caught for that. Filch knew it was us but Dumbledore claimed there wasn't enough _evidence_. It's not good enough if you don't get caught for it."

"What about scaring the teachers by hiding Peter in their desks last week?" Remus offered although his attention was on the book in front of him. He turned a page to the book and blinked in surprise when James reached forward and took the book from his hands. "Hey! I was-"

"We're thinking of a new prank, Moony," Placing the book beside him, James continued, "You should participate."

Moony glared and folded his arms. "Fine." He was silent after that and instead of participating, chose to glare at the leader of their group. James ignored his glare and continued searching for anything to peak his interest. James turned his gaze upward and he suddenly stopped. His lips turned up in a growing smirk.

"Oh no… " Remus grumbled.

"What day is it, boys?" James asked as he looked towards his three best friends. Sirius furrowed his eyebrows and looked upward, expecting to see what James saw. Instead, he saw the cloudy sky and grew even more confused. Sirius slowly looked back down, still chewing on his turkey, and shared a look with Peter.

"Halloween." Peter answered, equally as confused as Sirius was.

James nodded, his smirk glued to his face. "What's something huge we could possibly do tonight during dinner? Something that has to do with, say, the large pumpkins that levitate above us?"

Sirius matched James' smirk. "Prongs, mate, this is why we're friends."

* * *

"So we're going to ditch Herbology, hex the pumpkins before dinner and return to class without getting caught by anyone?"

"No," James shook his head before pulling on his Quidditch sweater. "We're going to ditch Herbology, hex the pumpkins before dinner, and _not_ return to class."

"You do realize that it's the middle of the day. We're bound to be caught by somebody, probably Dumbledore himself." Remus tipped back in the desk chair, watching as James strapped on his shin guards.

"You do realize I have the invisibility cloak, Moony?" James looked up from his shin guards to give Remus a pointed look. "Not to mention the Map? I swear have you even been here the past 4 years of our friendship?"

"Yes, but it's the middle of the day! During classes! Everyone's walking around!" Remus told them with an exasperated sigh.

"Clearly you underestimate us, Moony." Sirius spoke up as he tightened the straps of his Quidditch gloves. "Your little faith in us is quite disturbing."

"Someone has to watch out for you prat's." Remus grumbled, returning to his homework on the desk in front of him. "Admit it, if it wasn't for me, you'd all be dead by now."

"Eh, give or take a few years."

Shaking his head, Remus looked towards Peter who was lying on his bed, tossing James' spare quaffle up in the air. "Are you heading down to watch practice?"

"No, I'm behind on the Transfiguration homework. Figured you'd help me."

"That's why you're here, Moony." Sirius joked, heading towards the door of their dormitory. "To keep us from failing."

Remus rolled his eyes as James grabbed his broom and Quidditch bag. James walked by Remus, stopped, and turned, causing the end of James' broom to hit Remus in the side.

"Did I… forget something?" James pretended to look very confused and turned again, hitting Remus once more. "No, I think I have everything. Or did I-" Another hit.

"PRONGS!" Remus shouted as he shoved the broom away. The werewolf glared at the snickering wizards in front of him and huffed out a deep breath of air. "I hate you guys."

"No, you don't." Sirius smirked.

Remus growled, shaking his head. "Go fall off your brooms or something."

"Love you too!" James shouted over his shoulder as the two wizards shut the door behind them.

"They're impossible." Remus grumbled as he stared at the now closed door. "Absolutely insane."

"And you know Hogwarts wouldn't be the same without them." Peter casually replied although he sent a knowing smile in Remus' direction.

Remus sighed and turned back to his work. He stared down at the piece of parchment and felt a small smile growing on his lips. "Yeah… you're right. Hogwarts definitely wouldn't be the same without them."

* * *

"So, yeah… that's what happened," Lily finished her story with a heavy sigh. She ran a hand through her red hair and looked between her three best friends. All of them had deep looks on their faces, showing that they were all thinking deeply. Olivia was chewing on her bottom lip, staring down at the ground in front of her while Mary tapped her small fingers against her knees, her eyes looking across the room. Marlene kept her eyes on Lily, her blonde eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Sounds like you didn't give Snape a chance." Mary finally blurted out, earning a surprised look from the three witches. "What? That's what I think."

"I think she made the right choice," Olivia replied. "What he did last year… that was unacceptable. And saying that 'she was just there, as a target' is definitely-"

"Yeah, but he didn't exactly say that… "

"And yet, he did at the same time."

"I think," Marlene interrupted the girls soft bickering and wrapped her arms around her legs. "You should at least talk with Snape."

"Why?" Lily whispered.

"I'm not saying you need to give him a second chance." Marlene quickly corrected herself and continued, "I'm just saying, that, maybe you should just sit down and talk things over. Share your thoughts and feelings and see what he has to say to it. Then, maybe, you can forgive him and try out your weird friendship again."

"It wasn't weird… " Lily defended lamely.

Marlene raised her eyebrows. "No, it was _weird_. He's weird… in like the sad, pitiful kind. But, you're Saint Lily. You give everybody a chance, so give him that."

Lily nodded quietly and looked to Mary and Olivia who agreed with the blonde. "Okay… I'll talk with him." Lily couldn't hide the sensation in her stomach the moment she decided. It wasn't a good feeling… She felt like she was gonna be sick. But Lily agreed with Marlene, she needed to give Snape a chance to explain. She owed him that, right?

"Oi," Marlene perked up and Lily realized that Marlene was getting to what she _really_ wanted to say. Lily raised her eyebrows at Marlene's sheepish grin. "You should talk with James."

Lily blinked. Her heart sped up ever so slightly. "What? Why?"

"Because you might have been a little too rough with him. He _was_ trying to help after all. Why don't you talk with him tonight and just, I don't know, apologize?"

"C'mon I wasn't a little too rough." Lily waved a dismissive hand. "That's what we do! We fight! Yeah, he might have matured over the summer but that doesn't mean we need to be friends."

"Yes but I will have to be the one who suffers in Quidditch practice." Marlene's smile grew and she gave Lily the best puppy-eyes she could muster. Her blue eyes glanced towards the clock in the corner and a second later, she was up on her feet, cursing. "Which I'm gonna be late for!" Marlene stumbled across the room and grabbed her Quidditch robes, gear, and broom all at once, running into the bathroom. "Man, Potter's gonna kill me!"

* * *

Marlene was late.

Lily hadn't grasped how bad being 5 minutes late really was until Marlene entered the Quidditch pitch. The redhead leaned against the stands, peering for a better look. It was sprinkling softly, accompanied by a heavy fog, so it made it hard for her to see. She squinted.

James, who was speaking to the Seeker, had stopped and stared as Marlene sheepishly walked towards him. He folded his arms and gave her a cold stare, to which Marlene couldn't quite meet his eye.

Marlene seemed to be expecting a huge long speech about being on time because she blinked in surprise when James nodded towards the field tensely. Marlene nodded quietly and began running laps around the field alone. She glanced over her shoulder, watching as James went back to talking to Fletcher Cross. When Marlene neared to the spot where Lily was sitting, Lily leaned over the stands.

"What happened?" Lily whispered, watching as Marlene slowed to a stop but not before checking to see if Potter was looking.

"It's weird, he didn't yell at me. He usually does. But this, this silence, I think it's worse than the actual words. He's matured or something." Marlene mumbled and smiled. "It feels worse, like I just disappointed a parent." She laughed softly, showing that she hadn't taken it too deep. Afterall, Marlene played with James since their 2nd year, she completely knew him and was used to his 'Quidditch behavior.'

" _McKinnon!"_

Both girls literally jumped- with Lily falling back into her seat and Marlene jumping into a sprint. Lily peeked over the stands, watching as James held out his muscular arms and screamed across the pitch, "What are you even doing?!"

"Sorry, Potter! Evans distracted me!" Marlene screamed back before giving Lily a smug smile.

Lily gulped and met James' glare. "Sorry, Potter!" She yelled back. When he turned back to his team, Lily fell back in her seat and let out a huff. _She wasn't even on the team and that was stressful._ "Thank goodness I don't play Quidditch."

* * *

The quaffle passed smoothly between James and Sirius, then Sirius passed to Marlene who had just flown by him. The blonde caught it with ease and secured the quaffle in the crook of her left arm. She flew further, avoided a bludger from Layton, and threw the quaffle towards the goal which was guarded by their keeper, Diane Weasley. The fifth year keeper blocked the shot with ease, received an approving nod from James and tossed it back to him.

"Alright," James announced to the team. "We're gonna try 'firewhiskey' out real quick. Sirius, you remember that one, right?"

"I forgot _one_ play last year!" Sirius groaned, leaning forward on his broom that floated stationary next to Marlene's. "Pardon me for being human," Sirius mumbled as he ran a hand through his hair, playfully glaring at Marlene's smile.

"Okay," James shrugged and tossed the quaffle towards Marlene. "Show me that you remember."

"Oh, Prongs, I get all tingly when you get demanding like that."

"Shut up."

"Will do."

James and Sirius flew back with the Beaters towards the other goal post as Marlene flew towards the middle of the pitch. With a nod from the Captain, Marlene tossed the quaffle in the air, flew down to avoid collision, and looked up as Sirius and James crossed paths above each other. Sirius reached to catch the quaffle but retracted, as the play directed, while James, who flew underneath him, caught the quaffle in one hand.

Layton and Aaron flew side by side next to Sirius as Marlene flanked James who was shooting towards the goal. Both groups were on either side of the quidditch pitch and were nearing towards a suspecting Weasley. Her hands tightened around her broom as she blew some of her red hair off her face. Her brown eyes never left the quaffle, watching as it was tucked in James' muscular arm one second then passed between a crossing Sirius and James the next.

Marlene, who had left James' flank and flew straight in the middle, caught the quaffle that Sirius threw towards her behind him. She caught it, punched it into the air, and watched as James came speeding towards it and threw it into the goal, which made it past Diane's fingers by inches.

James ordered the team to meet down on the grass and a few seconds later, they were gathered in a small circle. The Captain eyed his team, a look of neither disappointment nor satisfaction on his handsome face.

"Black, you're slow on your throws." James began his scruinting and Sirius sighed. "Use your elbow a bit more. McKinnon, nice job keeping up but I need you to stay a bit higher in the air so the throws can pass between us quicker. Weasley, good job guarding but watch those low shots. The Hufflepuff's are known for doing that. Fletcher, nice job flying, but I need you to practice the fast turns. Stroud, you're slow on your hits, watch that. Osborne you're not aiming quite where you need to be. We'll practice that next time." James folded his arms. "Nice job scrimmaging."

When James finished, Sirius raised his hand in the air. James gave him a blank look but nonetheless nodded towards his best friend. "Are we done?" The team glared at Sirius while he gave them a quick wink.

"Scrimmaging was the easy part." James answered before nodding towards the sidelines. "Put your brooms away, it's time for drills."

* * *

"Do we really have to do our Defense Against the Dark Arts homework?"

"Do you want to fail?"

Mary sighed, her lips pulling into a pout. "No… "

Olivia smiled in response and reached forward to open Mary's textbook. When she opened to the correct page, Olivia sat back and grabbed her quill. "Great, let's get started."

Throwing her head back, Mary exhaled loudly, causing Madam Kemp to glare in her direction. The brunette ignored her glare and sent her an innocent smile. Humming to herself, Mary's brown eyes scanned the library for anything interesting. A few Hufflepuff's were gossiping about James and Sirius, a couple was kissing in one of the aisles, and students were scattered amongst the library, working quietly. Her eyes landed on the furthest table, eyeing the lone Ravenclaw with interest. _Why did he look so familiar?_

He had light red hair, pale skin, big eyes, and thin lips. As he turned the page to his book, Mary realized why he looked so familiar. His name was Reginald Cattermole; he was with Frank when she ran into Mulciber about a month ago.

When Olivia coughed quietly, Mary blinked and returned her attention to her friend. "Aren't you going to do your homework?"

Mary sighed. "I guess so." As she leaned forward, someone walked into the library, holding onto a large textbook. Mary glanced up and did a doubletake, noticing that the person walking in the library was Professor Truman.

She slapped Olivia's hand as he strutted by, giving a few waving students a polite nod. Olivia looked up from her homework, also watching as he returned the textbook and got a new one quickly. Professor Truman shared a few quiet words with Madam Kemp, who was blushing wildly, the only color on her pale, aging face.

When he turned to walk out, his green eyes landed on Olivia who met his gaze head on. A certain emotion crossed his features as he looked at the beautiful sixth year but it soon left, being replaced by a soft smile. Olivia's full lips inched into a shy smile, her cheeks bright red.

Mary watched, mouth agape, as Professor Truman glanced behind him towards Olivia before exiting the library. The brunette, shell-shocked, observed Olivia as she turned back in her seat slowly. Olivia stared blankly down at her homework, her face burning.

"Is this fourth year all over again?" Mary finally spoke, leaning forward in her seat for the brand new gossip in front of her.

"No! Don't bring that up!" Olivia pleaded in a whisper, her face reddening even more in embarrassment. "I was 14-"

"You were _in love_ with Eric," Mary brought her hands up and clasped them together, sighing dreamily as she began to impersonate Olivia. "'Oh, Eric! Please go to Hogsmeade with me, I know I'm a fourth year and you're Head Boy, but I think we would make the most _perfect_ couple!'"

Groaning, Olivia buried her face in her hands. "That was _so_ embarrassing."

"What did he say? I don't exactly remember… "

"'Thanks but I already have a date. Sorry.'" Olivia answered, her voice muffled through her hands. "I don't think I cried so much."

"Oh, Liv." Mary reached forward and took her friend's hand. "I'm sorry. But hey, looks like it paid off, he obviously has the hots for you."

"Come off it," Olivia shook her head as she ran a hand through her short black hair. "No way. He's a professor now-"

"He's only four years older than you. Remember how adorable he thought you were? Like a cute little bunny-"

"I was practically his little sister." Olivia grumbled, folding her arms across her chest. "I was never friend-zoned _so much_."

"Looks like you'll be breaking through that soon," Mary smirked. "Hopefully James won't mind."

Olivia raised her eyebrows. "What are you even talking about? There's nothing going on between James and I. We went on one date, _over a month ago,_ and snogged a few times. Purely hormonal, no emotion, no attachment."

"Ah, so you're NCMO buddies."

"What does that even mean?"

"NCMO? Noncommittal make-out session." Mary furrowed her eyebrows at Olivia's confused expression. "You don't know what that means?"

"Never heard of it."

"It basically means when you snog someone but it means nothing. No emotional attachment, nothing. Just physical. Kind of like friends with benefits. Sirius Black is the epitome of NCMO."

"Where did you even hear this?"

"Oh, about two summers ago, when I traveled to America to visit some cousins. It's an American term; they use it all the time."

"Huh," Olivia surveyed her homework and pursed her lips. "Well now I have no desire to finish this. In fact, those chocolate frogs that Lily hid under her bed are sounding more and more good by the second." Gathering her supplies, Olivia peeked up at Mary. "You coming?"

"I'll meet you there, I want to talk with someone real quick." Mary answered as she stared across the library towards Reginald once again.

Olivia nodded and walked out, waving goodbye. Once she was gone, Mary put her things in her bag and stood up, heading towards the Ravenclaw. She calmly set her bag to the side and took the seat across from the fellow sixth year.

Reginald regarded Mary with the utmost curiosity but didn't say anything. He slowly set his book down and met her gaze. When Mary looked into his eyes, one thought crossed her suddenly blank mind- _he has green eyes._

"Hello?" Reginald spoke quietly and Mary thought about how calming his voice was, even if he said just one word.

"Hello." Mary replied with a sweet smile. Reginald's gaze went down to her smile and then traveled up to her brown eyes.

"I don't want to sound rude, but… " Reginald frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh. _Oh!_ Sorry, I must… I'm sorry. I just, saw you sitting here, alone, and I thought… well," Mary's voice died down when she realized how lame she sounded. Coughing awkwardly, Mary continued, "I just wanted to thank you, for you know, the thing with Mulciber over a month ago."

"I didn't do anything," Reginald blushed with bashfulness. "Frank's the one who stopped him."

"Yeah, well, you stood there for extra security so I say that helped." Mary smiled. "Mulciber hasn't tried anything so far, so you two must've scared him away from me. So thank you."

"You're welcome," Reginald responded with the quietest 'you're welcome' Mary ever heard. He looked back down at his book, obviously uncomfortable from this much attention, and avoided Mary's brave gaze.

"Sorry, I'll let you get back to your book." Mary quickly grabbed her bag but paused when Reginald stopped her.

"No, it's really alright. I'm just not used to this kind of attention… from a beautiful girl like you."

Mary blushed, looking down at his sincere expression. Her heart skipped a few, nervous beats. She fiddled with her bag for a few quiet seconds before slowly sitting back down. "Okay… "

"Do you want to work on homework?" Reginald pulled out his bookbag. "I have it all finished but if you need help-"

"That would be great, thank you."

The two shared a shy smile.

"I need help with the Transfiguration research essay." Mary voiced, grabbing the desired parchment paper. Reginald nodded as he watched Mary grab her quill.

He smiled softly. "Alright."

* * *

"Thank goodness _that's_ over. I thought _I_ was exhausted and I was just watching you." Lily joked, giggling at Marlene's sweat-covered glare. The two girls were slowly walking back towards the castle when Lily politely offered to hold Marlene's broom since the blonde looked as if she were about to stumble to the ground any second.

"I can't even feel my legs. Are they really there, Lily? Or did Potter rip them off?" Marlene pulled at her wet hair and wiped a drip of sweat off her forehead. "I will never get used to these practices."

"They're intense," Lily added as she readjusted the broom on her small shoulder.

"They are," Marlene nodded in agreement and continued, "But it gets us to the top. That's what matters. Our previous Captain, loved Ben, I really did, definitely wasn't this invested in the game. I can't tell you how much of a better player I am because of James." Marlene looked behind her, watching as James and Sirius emerged from the stands, carrying all of the quidditch supplies. "He lives and breathes Quidditch." A look of remembrance crossed Marlene's face and suddenly the blonde smiled. "Which reminds me… "  
"No, please." Lily begged, holding the broom in one hand and grabbing Marlene's arm in the other. "I don't think I can talk to him-"

"Careful with Patricia, Lily! Geez, it's mahogany!" Marlene interrupted as she reached for her broom and quickly took it from the redhead. "You non-quidditch players… " After inspecting Patricia for a good few minutes, Marlene placed the broom on her shoulder and turned around.

"No-"

"Hey, Potter! Black! Come here!"

Lily tensed. Her green eyes glanced towards the coming wizards, noting the curious look on each of their faces. James had his broom resting on his shoulder and was carrying a large black bag in the other hand. He, too, was a bit sweaty from practice, but on him, Lily _hated_ noticing, it looked sexy. Blinking, Lily looked towards Sirius who raised his eyebrows at Marlene.

"Lily, here, needs to talk to our Captain, so I figured I would walk back with Sirius." Marlene smiled innocently and a look of understanding crossed between her and Sirius.

"Ah, yes," Sirius matched her smiled. "I'll carry your stuff, Prongs."

"Padfoot-"

"Nope," Sirius handed James' broom over to Marlene and grabbed James' quidditch bag, now holding two in one hand with some difficulty. "I insist," He huffed out, "Marlene, let's go before my hand breaks off."

"Careful with her, she's brand new!" James called after Marlene about his broom who replied with a non-committal 'yeah, yeah.'

Awkward silence followed the two teenagers as they watched the other two disappear over the hill. Lily pulled her jacket tighter at the sudden breeze that blew past her and avoided James' curious gaze. Her heart had risen to her throat and suddenly Lily felt like she would be sick on the grass.

He folded his arms across his chest, the Quidditch sweater tight around his muscular arms, and raised his eyebrows. "Well?"

Scratching the back of her head, Lily sighed. "Uh, I guess… earlier… wh-when I was talking with, with Severus… "

"Just say it, Evans." James replied impatiently.

"I might have been a little hard on you." Lily released the breath she was holding in. "And, I thought, that maybe, I should apologize-"

"Don't."

Lily blinked in surprise. "E-excuse me?"

"Don't apologize." James answered with a shrug.

Lily glared at the tall wizard. "And why not?"

"Because I don't need you to. I'm not some charity case."

Surprised at his curt tone, Lily folded her arms and raised her chin in defiance. She could feel her defenses piling in, one by one, until her entire wall was put back up. It seemed like she wasn't the only one. James had his hands in his pockets and met her glare straight on with his own. His broad shoulders were tense, his jaw was clenched, and his arms were so flexed, it seemed like his sweater was gonna burst. His hazel eyes burned with so many emotions, Lily suddenly knew his attitude towards her wasn't just from today.

Lily felt like she was back in fifth year. The familiar anger that James made her feel built up in the back on her throat, heating up her neck, despite the cold air. She wanted to scream at him, demand what exactly his problem is, and storm away, like she used to. But, for some reason, Lily stayed in her spot and continued glaring at James.

After a few minutes of silence, Lily unfolded her arms and asked tensely: "Why are you so _mad_? You weren't this morning! Or, or that last time we spoke for that matter!"

"I don't need to tell you." James stated shortly as he brushed past her.

"I'm just trying to apologize!" Lily called after him, watching as he whirled around, eyes seething.

"Really? Apologize for your normal behavior towards me?! News flash, I don't care!"

"Fine! Geeze, I thought you changed over the summer! But you're just as moody as you were last year!"

"You cannot say that to me." James growled, taking a step threateningly closer.

Lily smirked acerbically. "I just did."

Shaking his head, James took a few steps backwards. "I don't need this. I don't need to explain myself to you. I don't owe you anything and you don't owe me anything."

"Good," Lily huffed. "I'll keep in mind to never apologize to you ever again, or _talk_ to you for that matter."

"Why did you even come to apologize!" James threw his hands in the air in exasperation. "You've said worser things the previous years and this year you say 'get lost, Potter' and suddenly you're here to apologize?"

"Marlene suggested it! I had no part in this!"

"Well you're here now."

Lily groaned, stomping her foot on the ground. Her hands were by her sides, clenched into tight fists. "You're so… ! _Ugh_!"

Wordlessly, James turned and stormed up the hill. Lily watched him leave, her heart pounding against her chest and her face incredibly hot. When he disappeared in the castle, Lily let out a frustrated scream.

* * *

"Are you still up for this, Prongs?" Sirius asked cautiously, watching from his bed as James angrily pulled up his tie.

"And why wouldn't I be?" James snapped out.

"Well, clearly, the talk between you and Evans didn't go well." Sirius replied, shrugging when Peter and Remus sent him confused looks.

"Do they _ever_ go well?" James shot back, running a hand through his hair. "I-I'm fine. I just… need to distract myself and- _I hate her so much!"_

"Here we go." Sirius sighed as he layed down on his bed, closing his eyes.

"Why would she come to _apologize_?" James began pacing around the dormitory, angrily throwing his hands up in the air or shoving them in his pockets. "First of all, I wasn't even mad about earlier, it's totally normal for her to be snappy with me! Why the heck did Marlene tell her to come apologize to me?! Why did Evans even follow through with it! She's said worse things over the past two years and didn't think twice about it! Why is it that I _finally_ moved on, she comes to twist things around! What's wrong with her!"

"Moved on?" Sirius scoffed. "Mate, no you haven't-"

"Shut up, Black! Yes, I have!"

"Oh, okay, let's go with that." Sirius sat up. "My question is, why are you angry with her when she was just trying to apologize?"

James glared at his best friend. "You're taking her side!"

"No, no I'm not." He quickly covered himself and stood up. "I'm just saying-"

"She can't be nice to me. She absolutely _can't."_ James growled before walking over to the desk, ripping open a drawer, in search for a packet of cigarettes. "I've moved… fine, _trying_ to move on. She _cannot_ do this to me. She's already done enough damage."

"James," Remus finally spoke up from the windowsill. "I know she's been rough with you these past few years and you with her, but isn't it good that she's trying to make peace? Maybe you guys could actually-"

"Don't say it, Moony." James glared. "Don't."

"Friends," Remus said it anyway and Peter cringed, waiting for James' outburst. "Maybe this would be good for you guys. It'll definitely be good for everyone _around_ you two. We'll finally have a break from your fighting-"

Shaking his head, James pulled out a cigarette and immediately lit it with his wand. Remus grumbled and pushed the window open further.

"I'm just saying, that maybe this will be beneficial for you guys. You could be really good friends if you guys just _try_."

"I'll never be her friend, that's impossible." James took a long drag from the cigarette, glaring out the window. "We're just… we can't be. Do you guys even know how much she's taken over my life these past few years?"

"Oh, _we know_." Sirius joked.

"Yeah well, last year… was a little insane, I admit. I was a huge prat. I guess I still am, but I've changed on some things." James sat down on his bed and sighed. "When my dad got sick over the summer, I learned how much the little things matter. The choices you make everyday really do affect your future. I think that's when I finally realized just how immature and a massive prick I was. The thing that really changed it all was discerning how much Lily hated me. I guess I just didn't see it; I loved the reaction I got out of her, but I hadn't registered that it was _real._ That she really didn't want to go out with me." James took a long drag. "Realizing that really opened my eyes. So that's when I decided that I needed to try to move on. Spend this year focusing all my efforts on other things… This, her apologizing to me, definitely wasn't what I thought would happen.

"It seems like when I try to get away from her, she just pulls me back in." James laughed humorously. "I hate it. I absolutely hate it. I just can't seem to escape her." James took another drag, watching the smoke swirl around in the air. "She's going to be the death of me."

 **Chapter songs:**

 **Lily - Ready to Question by Gabrielle Aplin.**

 **James - I Don't Care by Fall Out Boy. Fix You by Coldplay.**

 **Quidditch - Howlin' For You by The Black Keys.**

 **Quick Note : Some of these chapter songs may not necessarily fit the exact chapter above, but they do fit the person/couple/topic at some point in the story.**

 **Any who, please review (I'd love for your feedback) and thanks for reading X.**

 **I'll try to get my next update as soon as I can.**


	5. Many Encounters (Part 2)

**HELLO and before saying anything else, I want to say I'm SORRY for taking a while to update. These past two weeks have been absolutely insane with work and Thanksgiving, I had no time to write! But now that everything's finally winding down, I can start again. :) I didn't edit this, so I hope there aren't too many mistakes...**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **CHAPTER 5**

 **"Many Encounters Part 2"**

 ** _Previously:_**

 ** _"It seems like when I try to get away from her, she just pulls me back in." James laughed humorlessly. "I hate it. I absolutely hate it. I just can't seem to escape her." James took another drag, watching the smoke swirl around in the air. "She's going to be the death of me."_ **

"He's going to be the death of me."

"Oh, c'mon, I'm sure it wasn't _that_ bad."

Lily shook her head in response and eyed the greenhouse glass doors. "I was just trying to apologize. And he… he acted like a complete git." She unknowingly glared at the incoming students, barely registering the fact that some of them noticed her glare towards them. A few pointed to themselves and raised their eyebrows or turned bright red and took a seat as far away from Lily as they could.

"Lily, you're glaring at everybody," Marlene groaned, pulling on the prefect's robes until Lily finally turned back towards Marlene.

"He's not here." Lily growled, tightening her grip on her bag.

"Sev? He's right over there." Marlene pointed to where the Slytherin's were, whispering in the back of the greenhouse.

"No, James." Lily replied, "I mean Potter." She quickly corrected herself, ignoring Marlene's raised eyebrows.

"All of the Marauder's aren't here." Marlene observed and eyed the table that they usually stood at in Herbology. "Ditching, as always." The blonde pursed her lips and turned back to the front of the greenhouse. "Wonder what they're up to."

* * *

James peeked around the corner, his hazel eyes surveying the Great Hall. When it was clear, James reached behind him and tapped Sirius on the shoulder, who did the same with Remus, then with Peter. Peter pushed off the wall and cautiously walked around the corner, the first one to enter the Great Hall. Remus followed close behind and clutched onto the Marauder's Map, his pale blue eyes keeping an eye out for anybody coming. Sirius was next, whistling softly, and finally, their leader.

With a flick of his wand, James shut the Great Hall doors silently. He sighed and met the three Marauders who stood in a line, staring at all the decorations with awed expressions. The Quidditch Captain put his hands in his pockets and surveyed the different sized pumpkins levitating above them.

"Well," He hummed and smirked over towards his three best friends. "Let's get started."

* * *

The walk from Herbology was cold and quiet. The sun was setting in the sky and a light darkness was falling over them, bringing more crisp, wintry air. Students bundled up as much as they could (with what they brought to class) and hurried along the grass, wanting to get to dinner as quick as they could. Lily and Marlene were one the of first students to leave class but were one of the slowest to walk up the hill for Lily was trudging along, grumbling things like 'I can't stand that Potter' or 'Why does he have to be such a prat?'

"You're upset." Marlene finally mumbled next to her, smiling down at the shorter witch when Lily looked up at her.

"Of course I'm upset," Lily replied shortly and quickened her pace, causing Marlene to speed up with her. "Why wouldn't I be? I had a fight with Potter _again_."

"No," Marlene shook her head and grabbed Lily's arm. She pulled Lily back until the two friends were standing in the crowd of passing sixth years. Students brushed past the two witches, mumbling apologies or complaints. Mary and Olivia were about to join them until Marlene casually smiled and shook her head. The two witches looked at each other and soon left, curiously glancing behind their shoulders as they walked up the hill.

"You're never _this_ upset over a fight with James." Marlene folded her arms and shivered ever so slightly. "And it wasn't that bad-"

"Yes it was-"

"No, no it wasn't. It's not like he did some elaborate scheme to ask you out or bully Snape, which he hasn't done either of those things so far, so I ruled that this fight wasn't that bad."

"But it was," Lily whined, turning to walk up the hill. She fixed the strap of her bookbag and gasped in surprise when her left foot tripped over a rock that was hidden by the setting sun. Marlene quickly caught Lily's arm, giggling softly, earning a glare from the redhead. The blonde pulled Lily upright on her feet and fixed Lily's robes, getting her hands smacked away from the other witch. Running a hand through her hair, Lily huffed.

"How many times have you tripped this year? Twenty times? Fifty?"

"I'm not in the mood, Marlene." Lily growled as she marched up the hill but kept her eyes trained on the grass below her. She quickly moved her foot that was clad in a worn-out black ballet flat, over another rock and continued speedwalking. "And I'm not _that_ clumsy."

Marlene shrugged and the two fell silent once more. Lily kept her eyes ahead of her while Marlene eyed her best friend, reading her like a book. "I think you should talk with Snape." Marlene advised suddenly, earning a surprised look from Lily. "I can tell you're worried about that too."

Lily sighed. "You're right. I need to talk with him. I need to hear him out," Lily's voice grew quiet, as if she were talking to herself. "I need to give him a chance. He's my best friend-"

"Hey!"

"I need to let him explain. I'll talk to him… tonight. Yeah, after dinner. I'll talk with him."

"Good job, Red. I think you both really need this, no matter how creepy Snape is."

"Marlene."

"Okay, okay, I'll be quiet."

* * *

"Hand me the jam, will you?"

"It's literally an arm's-length away from you."

"And I don't want to reach," Sirius raised his eyebrows towards Remus, pointing towards the jar filled with the purple jam. "Remus, I thought you were a gentleman."

Remus scowled. "I'm not getting the jam for you. You can reach it yourself."

"But I don't want to."

"Then you can eat your roll without the jam."

"You're despicable."

"You're lazy."

"Now that was uncalled for-"

"Oh my gosh!" James shouted from his spot next to Remus, dropping his fork on his plate with a loud clank. He reached for the jam in front of him and placed it front of Sirius with a thud. "Happy?"

Sirius smiled and grabbed the jar. "Very. Thank you, Prongs. See?" The wizard gave Remus a pointed look. "Look at how easy that was, Moony."

"You should take your own advice, Padfoot."

"And you two should just shut up." James spoke up, glaring at the two. "I swear you two bicker like an old married couple."

Sirius thanked James before spreading the jam over his roll. Taking a large bite, Sirius chewed obnoxiously on his roll, knowing how much it irked Remus. "So, Prongs," A piece of the roll fell out of Sirius' mouth and fell onto his plate. Remus cringed. "Have you noticed Evans, tonight? She looks mighty radiant in her uniform, don't you think? I mean," Sirius glanced towards the table where Lily quickly avoided her gaze from James. "Look at that red hair, pulled up into a ponytail. Don't you just want to take it down and have it cascading down her shoulders-"

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Sirius smiled a jam-filled, innocent smile. "Nothing at all. Evans just can't keep her eyes off of you tonight, that's all I'm saying."

Shaking his head, James looked down at the table where Lily was flushed red, staring down at her half-eaten plate.

"Isn't that right, Wormtail?" Sirius looked to his right, wanting assistance.

Peter immediately nodded. "Right, Padfoot."

"See? Even Peter noticed her."

"Lay off it," James grumbled as he turned back to his friends. "She wants to know what my problem was with her earlier. Evans can't ever leave a problem unsolved, it bothers her too much."

"You must get her knickers in a twist then," Sirius winked.

"She's too simple." James ignored Sirius and continued. "Everything has to be worked out, planned, and solved for her. Anything remotely complicated irks her too much."

"Oi, Marlene looks good tonight." Sirius commented, his eyes glued down the table at the blonde.

"His attention span, I swear," James nudged Remus who smiled in response.

"Why don't you ask her to the next Hogsmeade trip? It's coming up in a few weeks." Peter spoke up, raising an eyebrow as Sirius slowly looked towards him.

"I've asked him before," James added, shaking his head. "He avoids this question like the plague."

"Why doesn't James ask Lily?" Sirius asked, pointing an accusing finger towards his best friend.

James cocked an unimpressed eyebrow. "Are you kidding me? Try when I _haven't_ asked her. Which I'm not going to this year. Not at all."

"See? He's avoiding Lily like the plague." Sirius replied.

"For good reason."

"What about you, Pete? Are you asking anybody?"

Peter turned bright red. Sirius smirked.

"Well… w-well, I do have somebody in mind." Peter mumbled, twisting his napkin in between his small fingers.

"Who is it?"

"You know Dorcas Meadows?"

"The Head Girl?" Remus spoke up from across the table.

"The Hufflepuff?" James added.

"Older woman. Hot." Sirius nodded.

"Well I haven't asked her out yet. I'm… working up to it." Peter informed his friends before looking towards the Hufflepuff table where the black-haired girl sat, chatting with her friends.

"Now's your chance, Wormtail." James spoke up as he looked behind his shoulder at Dorcas.

Sirius nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she's hot which means you have to ask her soon before some other bloke does."

Peter looked between James and Sirius quickly, his face pulling up into a nervous scrunch. His cheeks flushed blotchy red and he chuckled nervously, fixing his tie with shaking hands. "I don't know…" He rubbed the back of his blonde hair.

"C'mon, Pete," Sirius sighed, slapping Peter's shoulder. "You can do this. Here," Sirius brushed aside some of his black hair and sat up straighter. He pointed towards Dorcas with a serious expression and Remus rolled his eyes. "You walk up to her… smile, of course, and say… 'You. Me. Hogsmeade.' And then, you walk away." Sirius leaned back, opening his arms in some satisfactory movement. He smiled and nodded to himself as if he won a recent duel with a Slytherin while James and Remus stared at him with wide eyes.

"I wonder how you get dates, Padfoot." James stated, earning a scoff from Sirius.

"It works, I'm telling you."

James shook his head. "No. Peter just walk up and ask her, don't listen to Sirius."

" _No._ Listen to my advice, I promise that she will say yes."

"She will not." Remus countered.

"Trust me, she will."

James chuckled humorlessly. "Says the guy who can't ask the girl he's in love with to Hogsmeade!"

"I could say the same thing about you, Prongs!"

"You know what-"

Peter stood up, silencing the group immediately. The other three stared as Peter fixed his uniform, took a deep breath, and walked towards the Hufflepuff table in a span of a few seconds.

"Do you think he's…" Sirius mumbled.

"Oh, he is." James responded, his hazel eyes watching Peter move closer to Dorcas as cautiously as Peter could be. "He definitely is."

"You know," Remus began with a smile. "Peter's the first of us to ask a girl to Hogsmeade." He watched with a humorous expression as James and Sirius looked at each other, panic on their handsome faces.

"We have to ask." They both said in unison.

"How is Peter the first of us?!" Sirius added as he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm always the first one!"

"No, you aren't." James countered, shaking his head.

"We're not counting Evans."

"I wasn't talking about her-"

"Sure you were. You're always-"

"Shut up. That was a year ago-"

"C'mon, Prongs-"

"And you say Sirius and I bicker like a married couple." Remus interrupted, giving James a pointed look. "You two bicker more than we do."

"We do not!" The two said in unison.

"I said it first-"

"No way, I did-"

 _"No."_

 _"Yes."_

"Padfoot."

"Prongs."

"Shut up!" Remus nudged James with his elbow before nodding towards Peter. "He's coming back!"

The three sucked in a breath, watching as Peter quietly made his way back towards the Gryffindor table, hands in his robes. He was rubbing his lips together, leaving no hint of emotion as to what happened a few seconds ago with Dorcas.

"Pete?" James was the first to speak as Peter slowly took his spot next to Sirius, scratching the back of his head.

Peter looked between the three of them and time had stopped. Sirius leaned closer, his eyebrows rising to his hairline, James fixed his square glasses as if to make sure he was seeing correctly, and Remus reached for another tart, his eyes glued to the smallest marauder.

"Well?" Sirius mumbled.

Peter broke out into a big, sunny grin. "She said yes." The Marauders erupted into loud cheers as they congratulated Peter by pushing him, slapping his shoulders, and ruffling his blond hair all the while Peter laughed and smiled, his blue eyes shining with happiness and relief.

They quieted down when Remus' watch dinged. Remus looked down at it, his face growing red as Sirius and James shared a mischievous smile.

"3," Sirius smirked and leaned back in the bench. "2… 1."

 ** _SPLAT!_**

Screams erupted the Great Hall as all of the pumpkins levitating above the students and teachers exploded into millions of pieces. The Marauders had bewitched the pumpkins to refill with the guts so that when the pumpkins exploded, the victims underneath would be getting a nasty, gushy surprise.

Pumpkin guts covered the entire Great Hall including the food, the floor, the students, and worst of all, the teachers. The students cried out as they furiously wiped the substance off of their faces and uniforms, some pointing accusing fingers to others. Mulciber, Snape, Avery, and a few other Slytherin's immediately turned and glared at the Marauders across the Great Hall, who were all covered in pumpkin guts.

James slowly took off his glasses and spit out a pumpkin seed as Sirius furiously pulled the guts out of his hair.

"I thought we _weren't_ going to hex the pumpkins above us," Remus groaned, cleaning his book that was innocently on the table with a flick of his wand.

"We weren't," James responded, running a hand through his sticky hair. "Who's the idiot who did?" When Sirius and Remus shook their heads, Peter smiled an orange, sheepish smile.

"Wormtail!" The Marauders moaned, shoving him to the side as Peter laughed embarrassingly.

"I didn't mean to! I thought I didn't but… I guess I did." Peter replied as he brushed pumpkins guts off of his uniform.

"If this doesn't get out of my hair, I will slaughter you in your sleep tonight, Pettigrew." Sirius growled as he continued trying to get the guts out of his hair.

"At least Dumbledore's enjoying this," Remus informed the others causing them to turn and look at the front of the Great Hall. Dumbledore was chuckling to himself as he pulled the pumpkin off of his white beard, his blue eyes tinkling towards the Marauder's. However, next to him, sat a very still Transfiguration Professor. Her emerald robes were now orange and her sharp eyes that were shielded by spectacles were on the Marauder's the entire time. Her thin lips were pressed firmly against each other and her hands were on the table, gathered in tight fists.

"Uh oh… " Peter mumbled, avoiding McGonagall's eyes.

Sirius smiled and waved towards McGonagall who slowly shook her head. "I'm not gonna lie, I missed detention since the last time I went which was… what, two days ago?"

Remus groaned. "Shut up, Padfoot."

* * *

"Lily?"

The redhead softly jumped at the quiet voice behind her. She turned, wrapping her arms around her body that was clad in worn-out pajamas and a pink robe. When the person came into view, still in uniform, she sighed ever so slightly.

"Sev," Lily nodded as he stopped just a few inches from her, his dark eyes vehemently watching her. The Slytherin's eyes followed as she nervously ran a hand through her wet hair. "Sorry if it's late-"

"It's not." He interrupted lightly, his pale lips pulling up into a small smile.

"Oh," Lily smiled awkwardly. "Okay."

"You wanted to talk?"

Biting on her lip, the prefect nodded. "Yes… I just, I wanted to tell you that, that I…realize I may have been a bit too harsh with you earlier today. I apologize for that and when you told me that I give everybody a second chance, I wanted to allow you that opportunity so… "

"Thank you, Lily." Snape replied before taking a deep breath. Lily watched him, knowing, somehow, that he had planned these words for a long time. She pursed her lips when he continued. "I'm sorry for everything. This morning, last year, every misdeed I've done to hurt you. I _really_ didn't mean to call you that… I'm sorry, I didn't know what came over me. You're my best friend. My only true friend and I can never live with the fact that my mistake is the reason we aren't friends anymore. I promise I didn't mean it. Is there anyway you can forgive me?"

Lily stayed completely still moments after he had finished. Her arms were still wrapped tightly around her shivering body and she momentarily thought about how drafty the halls can be at night. She thought about the one strand of hair that continued to drip water onto her arm, thanks to the Marauder's prank that ended with pumpkin guts in her hair. She thought about the hole at the bottom of her pajamas and the fact that she still wore them, despite how short they were for her. It wasn't until Severus said her name that Lily focused back into the situation at hand.

It was then when Lily was standing in that drafty hall with Severus Snape on October 31, 1976, that she realized she had already forgiven her friend. She'd forgiven him a long time ago. Lily couldn't pinpoint the exact moment she forgave him but she could pinpoint the moment she realized it.

"I forgive you," She finally whispered.

Severus blinked. "W-what?"

Lily Evans smiled softly. "I forgive you, Sev."

"You do?" Snape began to smile, _really smile,_ that only Lily could bring out. He felt his heart flutter as he stared down at the gorgeous redhead that he cherished so dearly. He felt relieved, a feeling that rarely came to him these days, and he felt genuinely happy. "You forgive me?"

"I forgive you." Lily giggled at the repetition of the statement.

"You forgive me."

"Yes, Sev. I've said it quite a few times." She joked, brushing aside her wet hair.

"Can I hug you?" Snape timidly pondered aloud, his pale cheeks reddening ever so slightly.

Lily smiled. "Of course, Sev." The redhead stepped closer and hugged her friend, relieved that she finally resolved a persisting conflict that hung over her head. She sighed at the simplicity of the situation and closed her eyes. Oh how she enjoyed simple.

After a few minutes of talking, Lily and Severus took their separate ways, heading towards their own common room. It was then, when Lily turned the final corner to get to the Gryffindor common room, that she came across something surprisingly impacting.

James Potter smoking.

The Quidditch Captain was leaning against the stone wall, in uniform, completely oblivious to the redhead down the hall. Lily watched as he took a long drag from the cigarette and slowly blew it out, the smoke twirling in the air until disappearing completely. Lily took a deep breath and moved closer towards the common room, hoping she wouldn't catch his eye.

"Nice pajamas,"

Lily tensed and turned to stare at the smirking wizard. Her heart skipped a few, unwanted beats, and Lily immediately glared at the innocent teenager. "What do you want?"

James raised his eyebrows. He took another drag, his hazel eyes never leaving her green ones.

"I thought you were mad at me," Lily observed, folding her arms across her chest. Lily wouldn't admit it but her stomach twisted nervously when James glanced down at her pajamas that stopped a few inches above her ankle.

"Let's be honest, when am I not mad at you?" James countered with a shrug. He continued leaning against the wall and Lily mentally cursed him for always being so casual around her. "What are you doing out here, prefect?"

"It's 9:30. I have 30 minutes before curfew." Lily informed with a tilt of her chin.

James smirked ever so slightly. "Try 10:15."

Lily unfolded her arms as she snapped her head around to look up at the clock. James was right, she was 15 minutes after curfew. Lily _never_ missed curfew! "Oh no," Lily groaned, turning back to the smug wizard. Lily smiled coldly when she realized something. "I could dock points."

"For Gryffindor?" James took a drag and chuckled. "You wouldn't do that. And you're breaking the rules too, smart one."

Lily growled. Earlier Lily had been shivering in the drafty halls; now, she couldn't be hotter. She felt intense warmth gathering in the back of her neck and her heart raced as if she had just run around the castle twice. What had come over her? Was she having a seizure? Highly unlikely, but still!

"What are you even doing out here anyway?" She finally asked, squirming under James' hazel eyes.

"I could say the same thing about you," James countered smugly.

"I asked you first,"

"Well, I'm not answering until you do."

Lily glared. "Fine. I was talking with Snape."

James' eyebrows shot up. "Friends with Snivellus again?"

"Yes and he's not _Snivellus_."

"Yes, he is," James smirked. "So why'd you forgive him anyway? Couldn't live without the greasy bloke?"

"Don't say that," Lily shot back, her anger rising even more at his arrogant expression. "I forgave him because he deserved it. He's sorry that he called me that and I believe him." When James didn't reply, Lily continued speaking. "Well, what are you doing out past curfew?" Lily placed her hands on her hips.

"Got back from detention with McGonagall and wanted a smoke." James answered easily. "Simple. By the way, what on earth is on your pajamas?"

Lily looked down at the pink elephants and blushed slightly. "They're elephants."

James squinted at her pajamas and shook his head. "Muggle animals." Lily watched as he took another drag and she felt herself blush deeper when James met her gaze. "Enjoying the view?"

Lily shook her head dumbly and felt even more like an idiot when James chuckled. "I… " Lily opened her mouth and felt her mind go blank when James cocked an eyebrow, waiting for her to speak. It took her a few awkward seconds until finally forming the words she had been unknowingly practicing at dinner earlier. "I, uh, I'm sorry about earlier."

" _You're_ apologizing?"

"Yes."

"For me being a tart?"

"Uh… yeah?"

James smiled and shook his head. He pushed himself off of the wall and stood up to his 6'1 height before extinguishing and tossing his cigarette in a nearby dustbin. He turned to walk towards the common room and Lily watched him.

"Are you going to apologize back?" Lily blurted out, straightening her shoulders when he turned back around.

"I don't apologize," James told her with a shrug, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"You should." Lily glared and folded her arms across her chest. "You were a prat."

"When am I not a prat?"

"True but I apologized to you when I did nothing wrong."

James smirked bitterly. "So you admit it."

"W-well, I, uh…" Lily unfolded her arms, desperately trying to find a snarky comment to shoot back at him. But standing there, steaming hot, in that dark hallway with James, Lily couldn't think properly. Her words would combine, get lost, or mix up, never wanting to follow her instructions. Finally, Lily sighed. "Fine, don't apologize to me. I should have known you wouldn't." She started to walk past him when James groaned.

"Fine,"

Lily stopped and turned around, waiting for his apology.

James' jaw clenched and he ran a hand through his messy black hair. "I'm… sorry, Evans. I guess I'm sorry for being a tart. Happy?"

Lily couldn't help but smile. "I accept your apology." Silence filled between the two of them but it wasn't awkward. It was quiet yet intense. They both stared at each other, neither one backing off or leaving. "Why do you smoke?" She asked out of the blue.

James pursed his lips and sighed, watching her. "I don't know."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?"

"No, I mean," James ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know why I started. Padfoot's the reason, probably. But I usually smoke when I'm… " He looked down the dark hallway, his jaw clenched. "Stressed."

"Oh," Lily blinked, suddenly at a loss for words. The redhead watched the Quidditch Captain silently for a few seconds, watching how he rubbed his jaw with a large hand repeatedly. Her heart dropped at how vulnerable and sad he looked at that moment. Lily had never seen James like this before. And standing there in that abandoned hallway, just the two of them, made this an impact even more. "Is it… cause of detention?" She asked with a small voice.

James smirked. "No, I quite enjoy detention with McGonagall." His smile slowly disappeared after that and he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I should go."

Lily could tell that he didn't want to talk about what was stressing him, so she didn't press it…No matter how much she wanted to. _Stop being so nosy._ She scolded herself.

James turned and walked towards the common room and Lily found herself trailing after him. Lily felt her stomach flip and the redhead decided that it was because she had skipped dessert since she was occupied with the pumpkin guts. "Who knew James Potter could apologize." Lily mumbled, cringing at the realization that she had actually said that to him.

"I know," James joked before giving the password to the Fat Lady. "It's making me sick."

The common room was surprisingly empty when they walked in, the students having gone to bed early from the big feast. The two walked quietly through the room until they had to take their separate ways for the dorms.

With his hands in his pockets, James turned and met Lily at the bottom of the stairs for the girl's dormitory. Lily ran a hand through her hair before tugging nervously at her pink robe. "By the way," She looked up at him. "How did you get the pumpkins to explode guts over everybody at once?"

James smirked and with a wink, responded with: "Magic."

Lily rolled her eyes and started making her way up the stairs. "Okay, well, I'll admit it was a pretty good prank."

"Why thank you, Evans."

Lily looked behind her at the wizard and smiled. "Uh… goodnight." James smiled and Lily noticed how beautiful his hazel eyes looked in candlelight.

"Goodnight."

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Sorry about not having any Sirius and Marlene in this chapter, I promise to have them in the next!**

 **Chapter songs -**

 **Everybody - Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright.**

 **Marauders - Sabotage by Beastie Boys.**

 **Reviews are James Potter kissing you in the rain. So, YOU GOTTA REVIEW CAUSE I WOULD IF I WERE YOU TO GET A KISS FROM JAMES.**


	6. The Cowardice Of Others

**So this chapter is kind of focused on Snape. I'm probably one of the few people who actually HATES Severus Snape. I mean, I respect his help, of course, because he helped Harry. But people seem to forget that Snape was a bully and he mistreated his students so badly. I won't talk about this now because if I get started on this topic, I'm not gonna stop. XD Believe me, I have a lot of things to say about Snape.**

 **One of my pet peeves is when people say that James Potter wasn't right for Lily and was a bad person. I mean HAVE YOU READ THE BOOKS? He sacrificed his life for Lily and Harry, saved Snape, helped Remus, etc, etc. JAMES POTTER IS A HERO AND A PRECIOUS BEAN THAT DOESN'T DESERVE THE HATES HE GETS. OKAY, sorry, one last point. His patronus is a stag and Lily's is a doe. Which means they're COMPATIBLE AND PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER. While Snape's was a doe because he was** ** _obsessed_** **with Lily. Snape and Lily weren't right for each other. Not in the slightest. James and Lily all the way.**

 **Sorry, got off on a bit of a tangent. I guess that's one of the reasons I'm writing this story- to show people that James isn't horrible like people think and that Lily and him are truly perfect for each other.**

 **Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this next chapter. Sorry again.**

 **Oh, and by the way, I'm sticking to canon (well to what JK's revealed) so if you think I'm just purposefully "dissing" Snape and making him make these bad decisions, I'm not. It's canon.**

 **CHAPTER 6**

" **The Cowardice of Others"**

"You're friends with that mudblood again?" Trent Mulciber demanded of Severus Snape on November 20th at breakfast time.

Severus glanced up from his warm porridge and simply shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about." His dark eyes briefly glanced across the Great Hall towards the redhead in question, who sat with her friends, drinking coffee and reading a book. His heart picked up in speed the moment he realized that Mulciber caught where his gaze went.

"I saw you chatting it up with her yesterday during Potions. And the day before that. And so on," The Slytherin growled as he took a seat next to Snape. His large hands were gathered in tight fists and his glare was so set on Snape, the small wizard briefly wondered if Mulciber would hex him.

Snape ever so slightly slid away from the other Slytherin and looked down at his porridge. He felt the smallest bit of defiance grow in the back of his throat that crept up into his mouth. "So what if I'm-"

"Don't say it, Snape. Or you'll regret it." Mulciber leaned closer. Snape immediately quieted, the defiance, the courage, retreating back into the depths of his soul. "If I see you talk with her one more time-"

"I know," Snape interrupted, clutching onto his robes. His heart raced against his chest at the fear of being cast aside by Mulciber and the rest of them. They were the only group that accepted him for who he was, the only group that treated him with respect. Well, with the little amount they gave anybody. "It won't happen again." He whispered.

"Good, because the Dark Lord would not accept this."

Snape briefly thought to tell Mulciber that neither had met the Dark Lord themselves but decided to keep it to himself if he wanted to walk the next day. So Snape remained quiet, nodded, and looked back down at his porridge.

 _What was he going to tell Lily._

* * *

"I was thinking about what McGonagall said in yesterday's lesson and I-" Lily's voice was distant in Snape's ear as he drew a random pattern in the column of his potions textbook. He thought to tell her what Mulciber said to him earlier at breakfast but he couldn't find the voice to do so. He thought about the expression on Lily's face when she saw him before Potions and the hug she gave him. He thought about how she told him what prank Potter did that day (he couldn't remember for the life of him) and the permanent jealousy he felt whenever Lily said James' name. Before Snape knew it, he was clutching his quill so tight, his already pale knuckles turned whiter.

"Sev? You okay?" Lily's perfect eyebrows were furrowed in concern as she leaned closer towards him.

Snape dropped his quill on the table and looked at Lily. "I'm fine, sorry," He mumbled, watching as she nodded softly, her red hair falling down her shoulder. Her green eyes glanced down at his textbook and she tensed.

"'For enemies…' What does that mean, Sev? And what spell is that?" Lily asked, pointing a painted nail towards the corner of his Potions textbook. Her green eyes read over the spell before Severus could cover it with his arm. "Sectumse-"

"It's nothing." Snape interrupted Lily before she could finish the curse. His cheeks burned against his cold skin at Lily's confused, slightly accusing, expression.

"Severus," Lily began quietly just as Professor Slughorn walked into the Potions classroom. She looked up as he passed, gave him a polite smile, before turning back to Snape. "What is that spell?"

Snape didn't respond because, thankfully, Professor Slughorn started speaking.

"Alright, class," Professor Slughorn turned to face the sixth years. He eyed a chatting Sirius and James, but didn't say anything, and continued speaking. "Before we begin, I'd like to pair you off into partners."

* * *

Severus was silent the entire time Lily and him were partners in Potions class. He would nod along with Lily and complete the instructions Shrinking Solution had required (with his special instructions he had already written months prior). Lily kept her tone completely neutral and business-like, which always meant that she was frustrated with him.

"Lily," Severus began the moment they finished the Shrinking Solution. The Slytherin turned towards the Gryffindor, his eyes momentarily glancing towards Mulciber and Avery who sat in the back of class. Mulciber was stirring the Shrinking Solution yet had his hard eyes trained on Severus. Avery, who had his quill in his hands, also watched Severus with a glare. Severus immediately faced forward, his heart diving into his stomach.

"I don't want this to turn into a fight," Lily sighed and looked at Severus who had his eyes glued on the cauldron. The wizard had his hands underneath the table and were clutching his dress pants, the veins visible on his wrists. He pursed his lips tightly and nodded.

"But," Lily added, pushing her textbook to the side so she could lean on the desk. She rested her chin on the palm of her hand and eyed Severus curiously. "I also want to know why you have a curse in your textbook and labeled it 'for enemies.' Now, what I'm _assuming_ is that you desire or already have used this curse on one of the Marauders." At the mention of the infamous group, the pair glanced across the classroom towards the four boys.

James was tipping back in his chair, bickering loudly about something unimportant with his partner, Remus, as he tried balancing his wand on his nose. Sirius, who sat in front of them, was trying to stick a quill in Peter's ear, insisting that he 'stay still for experimental purposes' while Peter kept slapping his hands away.

"Lily, I haven't used it on anybody." Severus quickly informed the redhead, wanting to pull her attention back to him instead of the Marauders. He watched, satisfied, as she slowly looked back to him. "I promise… "

"Yes, but what about the future? Or… or your Slytherin friends?"

Snape immediately shook his head. "I don't want to talk about this."

"But Sev-"

" _No."_

Lily blinked, taken aback at his curt tone. Severus, realizing his mistake, quickly apologized and stared down at the cauldron, knowing that the two needed time to cool off or their fight would worsen. In the corner of his eye, he watched as Lily slowly sat back in her chair, her shoulders completely tense. The Gryffindor was staring straight at Snape but he refused to look towards her direction.

She wanted to talk.

He didn't.

A fight was bound to follow.

"Well done!" Professor Slughorn's voice came up behind the two, a proud smile on his face. He eyed the Shrinking Solution with praise and looked towards the two. "Very good, you two. I should expect nothing else." With a nod, the Professor continued making his rounds, stopping at the Marauders and chuckling at something James told him.

As soon as the bell rang, Lily was out of her seat. She met Marlene a second later and then she was gone, like a blown out flame. It seemed as if cold water doused Snape's body at the absence of his best friend, as it always did when she left particularly angry with him.

Sighing, Severus gathered his things, his dark eyes glancing up and watching with a glare as James and the Marauders passed him, chatting loudly. He seemed to be the last one to leave so the Slytherin took his time packing up, making sure his potions textbook was secure in his bag, his homework for Transfiguration was completed, and his-

Snape froze, seeing two pairs of expensive black shoes standing by his desk. Blinking, Severus slowly looked up, his greasy black hair falling away from the frame of his face.

"I thought I told you to end your… _relationship_ with that mudblood." Trent Mulciber spoke low and dangerous, not wanting to gain the attention of Slughorn, who sat at his desk. His dark eyes glanced towards the Professor before focusing back on Snape.

"We saw you two talking," Hank Avery added, seething. The lanky Slytherin, who was much shorter and thinner than Mulciber, straightened his bony shoulders ever so slightly in pride. He saw the flicker of panic in Snape's eyes.

"We were partnered by Slughorn," Snape defended weakly, avoiding eye contact. He picked at the peeling leather of his school bag, trying to distract the fact that his hands were shaking vividly. His heart rummaged against his chest so loudly, he momentarily thought the other two Slytherin's could hear it.

"The entire class?" Mulciber raised a thick black eyebrow and leaned closer. "Listen, Snape, the Dark Lord would not accept this-"

"Yeah-"

"Shut up, Avery. Now, Snape, I don't want us to become enemies. But if you keep befriending mudbloods left and right, we'll have a little disagreement. You _know_ that won't end well for you." Mulciber leaned against the desk. This act, that seemed so casual to other's eyes, was never so threatening and intimidating to Severus Snape.

Snape's heart dropped to his stomach.

As if giving Snape pity, Mulciber leaned back and folded his large arms across his chest. "I'll let you think about it. But I expect an answer by dinner."

Snape couldn't quite meet Mulciber's eye as the other two Slytherin's finally turned and walked out of the Potion's classroom. The third Slytherin, however, stayed rooted to his spot for minutes after they left.

His limbs felt like lead, too heavy to use or even move. A greasy strand of black hair rested on his crooked nose but Snape didn't have the energy or the heart to move it. He wanted to tell Mulciber that he'd follow the Dark Lord, no matter what. But he also wanted to be friends with Lily, even if she was a mudblood.

Severus Snape was in a dilemma…

"Snape?"

The sixteen-year-old looked up at the sound of his name and found Professor Slughorn standing up from his desk slowly. "Is everything alright?"

"E-everything's fine, Professor." He mumbled, finding his desire to move once again. Snape quickly stood up and his school bag fell to the floor with a loud thud. He cursed quietly, bending down to pick everything up.

"If I may be of assistance," Slughorn spoke up as he walked around to join Snape who had just finished picking up his bag. The professor fiddled with his aging hands, watching as Snape slid his bag over his shoulder.

"It's alright-" Snape replied, turning to head towards the door. He wiped one of his hands against his robes, trying to get rid of the sweat that was suddenly conjured up.

"I think the key thing here," Professor Slughorn continued and waited until Snape turned to face him. Slughorn smiled slightly. "-is to follow your heart." He finished with an understanding nod.

Snape's throat tightened up at the thought of Professor Slughorn overhearing the Slytherin's conversation. _Had he realized that they were speaking about the Dark Lord?_

A flicker of worry crossed Slughorn's eyes. But the look his Professor had seemed honest, understanding, and helpful.

Rare… because no one ever wanted to help Snape.

Severus Snape gulped and nodded. "Thank you, Professor."

With a final nod goodbye, the Slytherin Prefect turned on his heel and exited the classroom as fast as he could.

 _He had a lot to think about, that's for sure…_

* * *

"What about Helga?"

"Mmmm, nah,"

"Elizabeth?"

"Already snogged her. Not that great."

"Despicable, Prongs. Lucy?"

"Eh… "

"Penelope?"

"Remember last time? _No way._ "

"Bloody- _just pick one,_ you prat!"

James gave Sirius a dry look as the two leaned against one of the many halls on the second floor of Hogwarts. Since they were both taller than most students, they had no problem seeing everyone, or more specifically eligible birds, as the students walked to their next class.

The Quidditch Captain folded his arms across his chest as his hazel eyes eyed a few Ravenclaw girls walking by. All caught his eye but one brave enough, waved flirtatiously. He winked, grinning as she blushed.

"Any of those?" Sirius asked with a bored tone.

James hummed in thought, eyeing the girls skirts after they walked past him, and shrugged. "Nah."

"Prongs… " Sirius grumbled, running a hand down his face. "You're usually _never_ this picky."

"Forgive me for wanting a good time."

"You're a gigantic prick, you know that?"

"I remind myself every morning before breakfast."

"You snarky chap."

"Oi-" James slapped Sirius' shoulder, earning a groan from the other Chaser, and nodded down the hall. "What about that Hufflepuff?"

"That third year with the unusually large nostrils?"

" _No._ The bird behind him."

Sirius' grey eyes took a few seconds before they finally landed on the gorgeous brunette. She looked a year younger than them, fifth year, and had a gorgeous smile that lit up her small face.

Sirius smirked, watching as she turned and walked down the hall, unknowingly heading towards them. "Nice legs, great chest, good smile. Seems smart enough. You gonna go for it-" Padfoot hadn't had a chance to finish his question because Prongs had already sauntered over to the Hufflepuff, a charming smile on his face.

Sirius chuckled and shook his head. "Cheeky git." He mumbled, watching as the girl blushed deeply, already falling for James' charms. She pulled her wavy brown hair behind her ear and nodded eagerly up at the older student.

A few minutes later, James returned to Sirius, a triumphant gleam in his hazel eyes.

"Well? What's her name?"

"Oh… uh, I think it's Peyton."

"You _think_?"

"I'm joking, I'm not that much of a prat. It's Grace."

"I'll take she said yes to you?"

"Did you really have to ask?"

"You're arrogant, you know that?"

"And why is that a bad thing?"

Sirius chuckled pushing himself from the wall. "I'm surprised we haven't met her before. This Grace you scored is a hard core nine. Maybe even a ten."

"Oh, most definitely-"

"Potter. Black."

The two black-haired teenagers smiled sheepishly at Professor McGonagall, who had just been walking by. The witch slowed to a stop in front of them, a dark eyebrow cocked in suspicion. She pushed aside some of her black robes and raised her chin.

"Shouldn't you be in class?"

"We have a free period-"

"Nonsense, Potter. I know you both have Care of Magical Creatures this period. Or did the two detentions for ditching this class the past month not register?"

"Oh, right!" James smacked his forehead, acting dumbfounded, earning a snicker from Sirius and a roll of the eyes from Minerva. "I _totally_ forgot! We should go, Padfoot."

"I completely agree, Prongs. By the way, McGonagall, did you do something different with your hair? It looks absolutely magnificent today."

"Get going before I give you another detention you two."

"And we're off," Sirius smirked before the two Quidditch players turned and strutted down the hall.

"You better be ready for the game against Hufflepuff, Potter!" McGonagall called after them.

James turned and smiled at the Professor, who smiled back ever so slightly. "Of course we're ready, Minerva!"

"Don't call me Minerva, Potter!"

"Will do, Minerva!"

* * *

"Well? Have you asked her?"

"Shut it, Moony."

"I'm just asking."

"And _I'm_ not telling."

Remus rolled his eyes and leaned over to James who swayed on his heels and whistled in boredom. "Padfoot hasn't asked Marlene to Hogsmeade yet."

"Of course he hasn't," James replied, shooting Lily a wink when she turned and glared at him for his loud whistling. He whistled a little longer before continuing. "He's a pansy, you know."

"I am _not_ -"

"Yes, you are." James interrupted with a smirk.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I'm _not_ asking her, you prats. We're _just_ friends. Nothing more."

"I thought you liked her-" Peter spoke up but was interrupted by Sirius.

"I don't. Nope. Nada. Not at all."

Peter raised his eyebrows and shared a secretive look with James. Sirius caught it and growled. "I _don't_ -"

"Then why don't you ask her as friends?" Remus suggested, shrugging.

The four of them suddenly grew silent. Peter tightened his Gryffindor scarf as a gust of wind blew past them. Sirius' longer black hair rustled with the wind but he refused to brush it aside, as his mind was working too hard to notice that his hair was poking him in the eye.

James' hazel eyes widened and he grinned at Remus. "What an _excellent_ idea-"

Sirius gathered his composure and stood up straight. "Shut up, Prongs!"

"Why not do it, Padfoot? It wouldn't do you both any harm. Just two friends… hanging out."

Sirius immediately opened his mouth to counter but stopped, realizing that James' point wasn't entirely wrong. The Gryffindor thought about it for a few moments, going through every possible pro and con, every possible situation, absolutely _everything_.

As he did so, the other three Marauder's stared at him, grinning like idiots.

Sirius' heart sped up at the thought of asking Marlene, even if it was just as friends. His throat tightened slightly, realizing that he actually wouldn't mind that… No, he'd _really_ enjoy that. "Friends?" He asked quietly, raising a dark eyebrow.

James nodded, stuffing his hands in the pocket of his robes to warm them from the cold. "Friends."

"Just hanging out?"

"Yup."

Sirius hummed quietly as he rubbed his jaw idly. "That… doesn't sound so bad."

"Then ask her, you dimwit."

"No need to be rude about it, Prongs."

"Sorry, mate."

"Eh," Sirius shrugged. "You know I can't stay mad at you."

"Oh, thank goodness. I was worried I was gonna have to sing to you like last time."

Sirius blinked, his mind processing what his best friend had just said. "Wait, no, I take that back-"

"Nope! Ah! Look! Class is over!" James broke into a sprint from Care of Magical Creatures, nearly toppling over Lily and Mary as he ran up the hill.

"Potter!" The girls screamed after the tall wizard who shouted something over his shoulder but didn't slow down.

"He's insane," Lily grumbled, watching him.

"Love him though," Sirius added with a wink as the Marauder's passed the two girls up the hill, following after James.

Lily rolled her eyes.

* * *

 _Follow what my heart tells me. Follow what my heart tells me. Follow what my heart tells me._ Were Snape's continual thoughts throughout the rest of the day.

He barely registered any of the classes, barely registered Lily's angry look she gave him on the way to Charms or the glare Avery gave him seconds after that, and barely registered dinner later that evening.

Snape stared down at his food, the thought _follow what my heart tells me_ repeating in his mind for the millionth time. The thing is… is that Snape had already made up his mind. He made up his mind a while ago. But, for some reason, he kept returning to his other decision, wondering if he made a mistake, but realizing that he would stick with his original decision anyway.

With a sigh, Snape looked up from his food and across the table towards Lily, who sat chatting with Olivia Hudson. His heart gave an impending stutter and Severus momentarily sighed.

 _What he would give for Lily's affection._

He watched as a roll came flying towards the redhead, landing squarely on the plate in front of her. Snape blinked, growing out of his trance, as Lily picked the roll up and looked down at the table. Severus' eyes followed hers and felt his mood immediately darken.

James Potter pointed towards Sirius who was smirking mischievously and pointing towards James. The Quidditch Captain rolled his eyes and shoved Sirius, who clearly had thrown the roll, and returned to his dinner.

Severus glared and slowly returned his gaze back to Lily, watching as she pretended to be exasperated but had a hint of amusement in her eyes as she looked back down at James.

Snape clenched onto his fork.

How much he _hated_ James Potter. There the Gryffindor, his worst enemy, sat, enjoying dinner in his usual cocky manner. People who sat nearby or walked past him would always say hi, desperate for Potter's approval. James, of course, would reply to everybody with his sickening charming smirk. That smile got him everything- from girls to assignments dropped to enemies made. He would use that smile and bam, anything he wanted to happen would.

Everybody just _adored_ James Potter.

Did they not see who he truly is? A huge, egotistical prick? Someone who didn't ever experience losing _anything_? Who practically had his perfect life given to him?

 _What Snape would give to use one of the unforgivable curses on him. What Snape would give to show everybody, show Lily Evans, that James Potter isn't all that great. That James Potter is a nobody._

Snape tore his eyes away from the Gryffindor table and looked down towards Mulciber. The other Slytherin caught his eye and a moment later, nodded, understanding that Snape had chosen.

Snape chose correctly.

Severus looked back towards Lily and felt his jaw clench. She ran a hand through her perfect red hair and laughed at something Marlene had said. Severus was across the Great Hall, but he knew that her green eyes were shining, as they always did when she laughed. Her cheeks would pinken just a smidge as her perfect full lips would stretch into a wide grin. Lily Evans was _perfect._

The prefect had tunnel vision on Lily that he barely noticed a figure walking past her. He watched as Lily went to stand up for something and run straight into James, who had been walking past with the Marauders, finished with their dinner.

Snape growled.

James nodded his apology and kept his pace with Sirius Black, who was talking loudly and animatedly about something stupid, he presumed. Lily returned the nod and fixed her red hair that got a bit rattled from the collision. She stood in her spot a moment after, staring after James, until she realized what she was doing and awkwardly sat back down, her cheeks red.

Snape glared at the feeling of his heart dropping to his stomach. Had Lily forgotten how horrible James is? Perhaps she needed to be refreshed. And Snape was just the person to do it. He wanted to show Lily that he was better than James. Better in dueling, strength, skill, _everything_.

And he knew just the thing that would help him.

He would support the Dark Lord. The one who had the _true_ power. The one who could help him grow as a wizard. The one who could help him defeat James Potter once and for all.

Snape could feel a smile creep up on his lips. He could already see Lily's proud expression having just defeated James and show her that he, Severus Snape, was better than that _coward_ , James Potter.

* * *

"Psst, Padfoot-"

"Hmm."

"Padfoot-"

"Hmmm."

"Sirius!"

"Oh my- _what?_ " Sirius looked up from his chess match with Frank Longbottom to James, who sat in the chair next to him, going over Quidditch plays.

James gestured casually towards the entrance of the Gryffindor common room causing Sirius' grey eyes to follow. He gulped at the sight.

"Well?"

"Shut up."

Marlene had just walked in for the evening with Lily, her blonde curly hair pulled up into a messy bun over the day's work. Her white button-up shirt was untucked from her skirt and one of her grey socks was slightly lower than the other one. Marlene's Gryffindor tie had a small brown stain from dinner and her red lipstick she wore was faded from the course of the day.

Sirius, realizing he was staring, shook his head of those thoughts. _Why would he even notice such a thing?_ He reluctantly returned back to his chess game where the Head Boy was eyeing him curiously.

"What's up with you?" Frank asked as Sirius moved his knight, his expression completely distracted.

"Nothing-"

"He's asking Marlene to Hogsmeade." James answered, glancing at Lily as she passed before returning to his parchment paper. His hazel eyes shot Sirius a glance. "And he's being a pansy about it."

" _Am not."_

"Well, I would hurry." Frank commented before nodding across the common room although his blue eyes were glued to the chess match. "Looks like Fletcher's getting to her first."

At that information, Sirius' head shot up to find Marlene. His neck gave a sharp pain causing him to hiss quietly. He reached up to massage the tender spot as his grey eyes searched the common room for Marlene.

"You're right… " Sirius mumbled watching as the Gryffindor 7th year flirted with Marlene who had just split with Lily, the redhead going upstairs. "H-he… he can't do that."

"And why not?" Frank asked, finally turning to look at Marlene.

"He's Keeper of the team… he should know that… we're mates… "

"Fletcher has no idea you were gonna ask Marlene, mate." James replied. "Don't get cross with him when our first game's in a week. He doesn't mean to-"

"Maybe I should ask her right now."

James and Frank both exchanged looks.

"Yeah," Sirius talked himself into his own decision and slowly stood, fixing his tie. "Yeah… I'm gonna go ask her right now. There's no way Fletcher's asked her yet."

"Padfoot-"

"Too late."

Sirius ignored James' warning look and stepped from their corner of the common room. He coughed and began his slow, nerve-wracking journey to the gorgeous blonde. Sirius cracked his knuckles, fixed his hair, coughed some more, and grumbled something to Peter who sat with Remus playing another chess match.

The four wizards watched as Sirius walked up to Marlene, his hands behind his back. The moment Marlene and Fletcher's conversation hit Sirius' ears, he stopped.

"Yeah, I would love to go to Hogsmeade with you."

"Really? Excellent!"

"Thanks for asking," Marlene smiled up at the seventh year and soon after, the two parted ways. Fletcher gave Sirius a pat on the shoulder as he passed, which sent a wave of what felt like cold water down Sirius' back. _Is this what it felt like to be rejected?_

Noticing Sirius, Marlene smiled brightly and met up with him. "Hey, Sirius."

"Oh, uh," Sirius scratched the back of his head, his voice quiet. "Hi… "

The witch's eyebrows furrowed at the tone of his voice, her blue eyes sparking with concern immediately. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Sirius sent her the best smile he could do at that moment which barely pulled his lips. "Everything's fine. Just… wanted to ask you… if you did the Charm's homework yet."

"Oh, uh," Marlene blinked. "No, I haven't. Sorry, I'll let you see it once I'm done."

"Nah, you don't have to." Sirius replied as he started taking backwards steps back the way he came. "I'll ask Remus; he's bound to have finished his."

Marlene watched him curiously as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and awkwardly said goodbye. Sirius turned, almost running into some first years, and practically sprinted back towards James and Frank. He sat down, avoiding anyone's gaze, as he casually returned to the chess match.

The blonde bit down on her lip, feeling sorry for some unknown reason, and momentarily thought about joining him. But the way his shoulders were slumped and James' stare at him, Marlene immediately knew she should give him some time. The Chaser looked at Sirius one last time before slowly ascending the staircase to the girl's dormitories.

After she left, James leaned closer to Sirius and sighed. "Sirius-"

"Not now, James. I've almost beaten Longbottom."

James sat back in his chair, exchanged a worried look with Frank, and reluctantly returned back to his Quidditch plays. James stared down at the numbers, maneuvers, and players, but found himself unable to focus.

He knew when Sirius was hurting. It was practically pouring out of him. The way he sat, how his fingers shook slightly, the shade his grey eyes got, heck, even his hair got flatter.

At the same time, James knew exactly when and when not to talk to Sirius. This moment was definitely a 'non-talking one' no matter how much James wanted to. He knew when to not push it.

So James Potter sat in the Gryffindor common room at 9:30 at night on November 20, 1976, going over Quidditch plays he already perfected and worrying about his best friend who had no idea how in love he was with Lily's best friend, Marlene McKinnon.

 **Who wants to hug Sirius now? *raises hand***

 **PLEASE REVIEW! Next chapter will be out as soon as I can.**

 **Chapter Songs-**

 **Everyone - Impossible Year by Panic! At The Disco. City of Angels (Piano Version) by Thirty Seconds To Mars.**


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